Tears Are Not Enough
by luvinoth1
Summary: Set five years after season six. Brooke Davis is finally getting married and the gang hits up Tric to celebrate her engagement. This will definitely be a night that everyone will remember, but for all of the wrong reasons. LP, NH and others...more inside.
1. Headlights On Dark Roads

**Tears Are Not Enough**

I know I'm in the middle of writing another story, Make This Go On Forever (which I will be updating very soon, the next chapter is almost done), but I've had this idea in my head for a while now and I really wanted to put it out there. My story takes place 5 years after season six. Lucas and Peyton got married and had a daughter, Elizabeth, who's now 4. Chase came back to town and him and Brooke got back together and are now getting married. The core five, as well as Skills, Mouth, Millie, and Chase will be in this fic. Karen and the other adults will appear as well, though to a little lesser of an extent. The story will feature Leyton and Naley, as well as a little Brase, though it's not centered on any particular couple or person. All of the main characters will have been represented fairly equally in this fic when it's all said and done. Anyways, I hope you like it. :)

**Headlights on Dark Roads**

"Brooke Davis is getting married!" Skills said chuckling while taking a seat at the bar and popping open a beer. "And I thought I'd never live to see the day. This isn't for real, is it?"

"Oh it's for real" said Brooke, taking a seat next to Skills, showing off her engagement ring to him. "Check out the rock."

"Looks like it cost a pretty penny." Skills said, staring at Brooke's ring in awe

"Oh it definitely did." Chase responded from near by, sipping his drink. "But Brooke's more than worth it."

"You sure about that? I mean, those diamonds look pretty--" It was at that moment Brooke jabbed an elbow, hard into Skills' ribcage. "Oww Brooke! That really hurt."

"Good." Brooke said smiling. "The wedding's not for a few more months Skills so you better watch your mouth because there's more where that came from. Keep it up and you really might not live to see the day I get married."

"Oh is that a threat?" Skills asked with a devilish glare in his eyes.

"No, it's a promise."

The two continued to glare at each other before they both burst out into laughter. Skills' demeanor suddenly turned slightly solemn "Oh I'm gonna miss moments like these."

"Skills, you goof." Peyton said jumping into the conversation. "Brooke's getting married, not moving away."

Skills momentarily pondered Peyton's words before responding "Hmm…you've got a point."

Peyton just laughed and rolled her eyes. "Alright let's gather everyone together; I'd like to make a toast."

Chase and Skills got up from their seats in search of the rest of the gang, who was spread out amongst the Tric crowd. Minutes later they returned with Lucas, Nathan, Haley, Mouth, and Millicent.

Peyton cleared her throat and began her speech. "I'd like to make a toast: to the lovely Brooke Davis. I am so happy that you have finally found with Chase, the kind of love that many can only dream about. I can't think of a more worthy individual. Anyone who can see past peoples greatest faults and is able to forgive as easily as you deserves nothing but the best. Brooke…you're so much more than a best friend; you're my family and I know your future marriage to Chase will bring you the happiness you've always wanted."

Peyton than picked up her glass and raised it: "To Brooke!"

The gang all raised their drinks and took a sip, except for a teary-eyed Brooke who instead ran up to Peyton and pulled her into a close embrace. "I love you P. Sawyer" she whispered into her best friend's ear.

"I love you to too B. Davis. Now stop crying, you'll ruin you're make-up."

"It's my party. I'll cry if I want to."

Peyton laughed and Brooke smiled. She then wiped the tears from her eyes and shouted to the group. "Alright, now that I'm done crying, let's get back to celebrating my engagement! Everyone to the dance floor!"

"You up for a dance Mrs. Scott?" Lucas asked as he extended a hand out to Peyton.

"Of course." Peyton took his hand and the two headed off.

"How about you Nathan?" Haley asked her husband. "Let's go out there and shake our fun stuff."

Nathan firmly shook his head no "Absolutely not. You know I don't dance."

"Please Nathan" Haley pleaded. "I promise I'll make it up to you later…in bed" she whispered into his ear.

"You've made a very, very tempting offer, but I just can't. I really don't feel like embarrassing myself tonight. I'm just gonna sit here at the bar."

Haley rolled her eyes "Ok, whatever. Be a party pooper. I'll just find someone else to dance with me." She scanned the club briefly and spotted Skills. She walked over to him and grabbed his arm. "Skills lets dance" she said dragging him to the floor before he could say anything.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Nathan had been sitting alone, quietly at the bar, taking in the scene when Peyton went over and sat down in the seat next to him. "Can I have two screwdrivers?" she asked the bartender. He made the drinks and Peyton slid one over to Nathan.

"You do realize I'm the designated driver tonight, right? I'm sure you would like for me to bring you and Luke home in once piece."

"And you will. It's just one little drink. Besides, no one holds their liquor better than you."

Nathan laughed and took a sip. "You've got that right. So that was a great little toast you made earlier. How will you top it at her reception?"

"Oh I'm sure I can think of something great to say at the wedding. I am married to a writer after all." Peyton said smiling. The two sat together for a moment in silence before she finally spoke up "You know Haley is dying for you to dance with her."

"I know." Nathan said guiltily.

"And you also know that as parents, we hardly ever go out and have fun nights like these."

Nathan shook his head. "You're right."

"So if you know all of these things, why are you sitting here instead of out there having fun with your wife and all of your friends?"

"Peyton you already know the answer to that question."

Peyton shook her head. "Yeah, you don't dance. I've heard it a million times. But you know what? Tonight, you are going to dance."

"Nope, not happening."

"What's it gonna take for me to get you on that floor?" Peyton asked seriously.

Nate took another sip of his drink. "A lot more liquor than what's in this screwdriver. And since I'm driving us all home--"

"Alright enough excuses. You're getting out there and dancing with your wife for at least one song. Either by choice or force."

Nathan eyed his sister-in-law skeptically "Oh really?"

"Yup. So what's it gonna be?"

When Nathan failed to respond fast enough, Peyton grabbed his hand and dragged him to the dance floor "I guess it's by force then. Haley look who wants to dance with you!"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"See now was that so bad?" Peyton asked Nathan as the two sat back down at the bar to finish their drinks.

"No" Nathan responded honestly. "But that's only because I was dancing with Haley. Otherwise it would have been torture."

The two sat for a bit and finished their drinks and were soon joined by Lucas, Haley and Brooke.

"You look really tired Peyton, you ok?" Haley asked her friend, looking concerned.

"I feel really exhausted." Peyton answered back. "It's been months since I've gotten over my mono, but I definitely am still feeling the effects."

"I can take you home now if you want Peyton." Nathan offered.

"No, you Lucas, and Haley aren't ready to leave yet. Its ok, I'll be fine."

"No really it's ok. I can drop you off and then come back."

Lucas took a seat next to Peyton and put his arm around her "If your tired babe, then you should go home. I'm kind of tired myself, I'll go with you."

Peyton smiled softly and gave Lucas a kiss on the cheek "No you're not. But thank you for lying and wanting to leave with me. You're having fun, I want you stay. But, I will take Nathan up on his offer."

"Alright then." Nathan said getting up from his seat. "Let's hit the road Sawyer."

Nathan gave Haley a quick kiss on the lips and Peyton gave Lucas another kiss and headed over to Brooke to give her a hug goodbye. "Tell Chase and everyone else I said bye?"

"There all spread around here somewhere, but I will when I see them. I'm glad you came out tonight P. Sawyer."

"So am I. I'll call you tomorrow." And with that, Nathan and Peyton headed out.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So did you have fun tonight?" Nathan asked Peyton as he started up the car and left the club parking lot.

"Oh yes. It was kinda crowded and it probably would have been better if we could have rented out the club, but I still had a lot of fun. Did you?"

"Definitely. But, tomorrow, it's back to the real world."

"Yeah, but it's not a bad thing. Brooke's party…having Lucas all to myself…it's been a great week, but I really miss my little girl. I can't wait for her to come home tomorrow."

"Did Elizabeth have a good time visiting Karen, Andy, and Lily in New Zealand?"

"A great time. Though I'm going to kill Andy for bringing her to the zoo. Last night on the phone she begged Lucas and I for a kangaroo."

Nathan began laughing hysterically.

"Yeah, and since your brother didn't have the heart to tell his little girl no, he let me be the bad guy. It took me over an hour to explain why she couldn't have one."

Nathan continued laughing "Elizabeth is too funny. She already has a dog, a cat, and a hamster, and now she wants a kangaroo."

"Don't forget the lizard. The girl loves reptiles. I still can't believe Luke bought her one."

"I still can't believe you let her keep it."

"Neither can I. Elizabeth is definitely too funny. One minute she's trying on my make-up and prancing around in her tutu, the next she's feeding crickets to her lizard and playing with the baby snakes at the pet store."

"A ballerina who loves reptiles."

"That's my girl." Peyton said chuckling.

The two sat together in silence for a bit before Nathan asked "Did you ever think back during freshman year of high school that our lives would end up the way they have?"

"Not at all. If someone would have told me that you and I would break up, that I'd end up married to Lucas and you to Haley…I would have told them they were nuts."

Nathan agreed. "Me too. I'm so glad we thought wrong."

"So am I" Peyton said laughing. "Me, you, and Brooke…we would be such messes right now. It's funny because now I could never picture a life without Lucas and Elizabeth in it."

"And I could never picture one without Haley and Jamie. Though I'm very happy that you're still in my life as the sister-in-law."

"Aww thanks Nate. Have I ever told you you're my favorite brother-in-law? Because you are."

"I'm your only brother-in-law Peyton. Unless Derek has started batting for the other team since I've last seen him."

Peyton punched Nathan in the arm "He's still batting for the same team thank you for very much. Not that I'd have a problem if he wasn't."

"Your gonna take your compliment back now, aren't you?"

Peyton shrugged, but then smiled "No, you're still my favorite brother-in-law."

The car filled with silence once again. A few minutes had gone by and Peyton now had her body turned on her side. She stared aimlessly out of her side window and yawned. She noticed that the car was starting to skid off the road a bit.

"Nate what are you doing?" She turned to face Nathan and her heart nearly stopped when she saw him passed out, slightly convulsing, in his seat. "Oh my gosh, Nathan!"

It was at that moment that Peyton noticed the car was heading toward a tree. She leaned over and tried to grab the wheel. "Aaahhh!"

But Peyton was too late. Nathan's car hit the tree and the two now lied unconscious in the dismantled vehicle. Nothing could be seen on the dark road, except for the slight flicker of another car's headlights heading in their direction.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. I have some really great ideas for future chapters that I'm sure you all will love. If you like my story so far, please review...they truly inspire me and keep me motivated to write! Thanks for reading :)


	2. O Brother Where Art Thou?

**O Brother, Where Art Thou?**

The near by car sped up to the scene of the accident. The driver quickly parked his vehicle, hopped out and headed over to Nathan's car.

Dan Scott rushed over to his son's side and forced open the car door. "Nathan! Nathan, wake up!" He shook him softly, but he didn't budge. Dan looked over at Peyton and noticed the huge gash on the side of her head. He ran over to her side of the car and forced open her door as well.

"Peyton!" He shook her gently, but she didn't respond either. Dan backed away from the car and pulled out his cell phone.

"Hello, I need an ambulance right now. My son and daughter-in-law have been in a car accident. I'm on Sycamore Ave. Their both unconscious and my daughter-in-law…she's bleeding from the head."

"Alright sir, we'll send an ambulance out right now" said the operator on the line. "Don't move them."

"I won't." Dan hung up the phone and waited impatiently for the ambulance to come. A few minutes later the ambulance arrived and five paramedics rushed over to Nathan's car.

"How long have they been out for?" the first paramedic asked as he leaned into the vehicle to examine Peyton.

"I don't know, like 10 minutes. Can you stop talking to me and just get them out?" Dan said impatiently.

The second paramedic spoke up "We're trying to. As fast and as safely as we can. Just let us do our job."

Dan stepped back and the second paramedic began helping his colleagues pull Nathan and Peyton out of the car. They carefully placed the two on gurneys and put them in the ambulance.

"Do you want to ride with us Mr. Scott?" the third paramedic asked as she hopped back into the ambulance.

"No, I'll drive my car and meet you at the hospital."

The paramedics shut the ambulance door and drove off. Dan ran back to Nathan's dismantled car and looked around. He spotted Peyton's cell phone and picked it up. He stepped away from the car and towards his own as he searched through her phonebook. He found Haley's number before Lucas's so he decided to try and call her first.

Dan jetted back to his own car, hopped in and started it up "Come on Haley, pick up your phone" he said aloud to himself as he drove off and headed toward the hospital.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Back at Tric…_

Lucas, Haley, Brooke, Chase, Skills, Mouth and Millicent were hanging out near the bar, enjoying each other's company.

"This has been such a great night" Brooke said cheerfully. "I'm really glad you guys could make it out."

"Me too." Haley said. "Nathan and I hardly ever get the chance to hang out with everyone all together like we did back in high school. It's nice to finally be able to do it."

Lucas pulled out his cell and checked the time. "Speaking of Nathan, what do you think is taking him so long? He should have been back by now."

"Hmm, I don't know." Haley suddenly felt her pocket vibrate. "Someone's calling me, it's probably Nathan."

Haley pulled out her phone and noticed that it wasn't Nathan calling, but Peyton. "That's weird it's Peyton.

"Why would she be calling you and not me?" Lucas asked, confused.

Haley just shrugged her shoulders and flipped open her phone. "Hey Peyton what's going on?"

_"Haley, thank god, you finally answered."_

"Yeah, well the service sucks--wait a minute—who is this and why are you calling from Peyton's phone?" Haley asked suspiciously.

"_It's Dan."_

Haley seemed shocked "Dan?!"

Lucas's eyes widened "What the hell is going on?!"

_"Haley, don't hang up, I need you to hear me out. I was out for a drive when I noticed a crashed car. It was Nathan's. Him and Peyton were in an accident."_

"Nathan and Peyton were in an accident?!" Haley's face turned white, as did Lucas's. "Are they alright?"

_"No they're not. They were both unconscious and it didn't look good. The car is totaled. You and Lucas need to get to the hospital now."_

"Ok." Haley hung up the phone, headed over to Lucas and began crying hysterically.

Lucas's eyes filled with worried and the adrenaline starting pumping. "Haley what is going on? What's happened to Peyton and Nathan?"

Haley tried to talk, but couldn't get her words out. Brooke walked over to her friend and attempted to console her. "Haley, you need to calm down. What did Dan say?"

Haley took in a deep breath, turned to Lucas and made a second attempt at speaking "He said Nathan and Peyton were in an accident. Its bad Luke, it's really bad. We need to get to the hospital."

"I'll take you guys." Chase said as he grabbed his keys from his pocket. "I haven't drank tonight."

"Neither have I" said Mouth from near by grabbing his keys from his own pocket. "I'll take Millie and Skills with me and we'll meet you four at the hospital."

Brooke nodded at Mouth and her, Lucas, Haley and Chase quickly headed out of the club with Mouth, Millie and Skills following close behind.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Once the gang finally reached the hospital, Lucas and Haley jumped out of Chase's car, burst through the ER doors, followed by Brooke and Chase, and ran over to the front desk.

"Our spouses were brought in a little while ago" said an out of breath Lucas. "Peyton and Nathan Scott."

Before the lady at the front desk began sifting through her files, a doctor walked up to Lucas and Haley. "I'm Dr. Jones and I'm one of the ER doctors who've been treating Peyton and Nathan Scott. You're really their spouses?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes" Lucas said, still trying to catch his breath. "Peyton's my wife and Nathan's her husband. He's also my brother. Can you tell us what's going on?"

"Well Mr. and Mrs. Scott, as I'm sure you are already aware, your wife and your husband have been in a serious accident. We're still trying to treat them both as we speak. Someone will be out to tell you more information once we no more about their conditions. Do either of them suffer from any medical issues or currently on any medications?"

Lucas answered first. "Peyton's not taking anything, but she had mono a couple of months ago."

"Ok, and what about your husband?" Dr. Jones asked Haley.

"No, he's not sick or taking any medicines" Haley answered quietly. "He was taking Rohypnol for a while to help with his insomnia. He's been doing better though and hasn't taken any for a few weeks now."

"Ok, thanks for the information. I promise I'll be back to talk with the two of you as soon as I can." Dr. Jones then hurried off.

Lucas began pacing and Haley just stood in place, looking distraught.

Brooke walked over to her two friends "Why don't you two sit down with me, Chase and everybody."

Lucas vehemently shook his head no. "I can't. I can't just sit around and wait. I want to be with her Brooke."

"I know you do Luke, but pacing around isn't going to help. Come on." Brooke headed back over to the waiting area, with Lucas and Haley following her close behind, and sat down with her, Chase, and the rest of their crew, who had arrived while Lucas and Haley had been talking to Dr. Jones.

"Have you been told anything yet?" asked Skills hopefully.

Haley shook her head no. "Just that someone will be back to tell us something soon."

Lucas remained quiet, sitting with his head down, when he was slightly startled by the touch of someone's hand on his shoulder "She'll be ok son; they both will."

Luke turned around and for the first time, in a long time, was face to face with Dan.

"Ok, look. I'm grateful for what you did; for helping Peyton and Nathan...for miraculously being at the right place at the right time." Lucas took in a deep breath before continuing. "But this still doesn't change anything. It doesn't make me forget who and what you are. I don't know about Haley, but I don't want you here Dan. Leave."

Dan took a step back and glanced at Haley, who remained quiet and made no effort to defend him. "If that's what you want, than I'll go." Dan turned around and walked away.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Three hours had now gone by and still no news. The group still sat in the ER's emergency room, waiting.

"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Lucas shouted as he sat up from his seat. He headed toward the front desk. "I demand that someone tell me what is going on with my wife, right now!" He yelled out angrily.

It was at that moment that a female doctor emerged, looking for Haley. "Which one of you here is Mrs. Scott?"

"That's me." Haley responded, jumping up from her seat "How's my husband?"

"I'm Dr. Brown and I'm one of the doctors who have been treating Nathan. He's going to be ok."

Haley sighed in relief. "Thank God."

"He was knocked unconscious at impact, but he's awake now. Other than a dislocated left shoulder, which I popped back into place, and a concussion, your husband seems to be fine. No internal or any other external injuries."

"That's great. Can I see him now?" Haley asked

"Yes, he's just awoken. But only for a little while. He needs to rest and I still want to run a few tests."

"I thought you said he was ok?"

"There's just something I need to check out. I'll talk to you and Nathan more about it once I run the tests and get the results back."

Lucas, who was truly happy to hear that his brother was going to be alright, was still obviously waiting on some news about Peyton and walked up to Dr. Brown. "My wife, do you know anything about her condition?"

"I'm not her doctor. Dr. Jones will be out in a minute to talk to you about your wife."

Lucas could tell by the doctor's eyes that she knew what was going on with Peyton. "But I know you know something. Can't you please just--"

"I'm sorry Mr. Scott, but I think it would be best if Dr. Jones be the one to come and talk to you. Mrs. Scott, could you please follow me?" And Haley and Dr. Brown were off, heading towards Nathan's room.

Lucas went back to his seat next to Brooke and a few minutes later, Dr. Jones entered the waiting room. Lucas popped up and headed over to him "How's Peyton?"

"Mr. Scott, will you follow me please."

"Tell me how she is first."

"Ok, well your wife is currently in critical condition. Much of the impact was on her side of the car. There was some damaged to the spleen, which I was extremely concerned about since it is still slightly enlarged from having had mono not too long ago. I've repaired the damage, but we're still monitoring it very closely. There was some internal bleeding as well, but has stopped. We've given her several blood transfusions to prevent her body from going into shock."

"Oh my God! I need to see her. Can I see her?" a hysterical Lucas asked.

"In a minute, but there's more I need to tell you first. As well as the bleeding and internal injury, your wife suffered from severe head trauma."

"Head trauma? What kind of head trauma? She's going to be ok though, right?"

"I'm afraid your wife's slipped into a coma. I'm not sure when, or if, she'll ever wake up. Even if she does indeed wake up, there could be some brain damage or paralysis. I'm so sorry Mr. Scott."

After hearing those words Lucas fell to the floor and burst into tears.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haley and Dr. Brown entered Nathan's room and Haley immediately rushed over to her husband's bedside.

"Nathan I'm so glad you're ok! I was so worried." Tears began to flood her eyes.

Nathan extended out to Haley with his right arm and wiped a tear away from her eye. "Haley, don't cry." Nathan said very softly. "I'm ok. You don't need to cry."

Haley took his hand into her owns and kissed it.

A light bulb suddenly went off in Nathan's mind "Haley how's Peyton? Is she gonna be alright?"

"I'm not sure." She turned to Dr. Brown. "Can you please tell us what's going on with Peyton?"

Dr. Brown sighed deeply "I really shouldn't--"

"Please?" Nathan asked, the concern very apparent in his voice. "I really need to know."

Dr. Brown paused for a moment, but then spoke up "I'm afraid your sister-in-law suffered major head trauma. She's fallen into a coma. I'm so very sorry."

"Luke's gotta be a mess. And it's all my fault. I've got to see him." Nathan attempted to get out of bed, but Dr. Brown motioned for him to remain where he was.

"I know you want to check on your brother and sister-in-law, but you need your rest. I also need to run a couple of more tests. You'll be able to visit in the morning."

"The morning!? What if something happens in the meantime?" Nathan asked agitatedly.

"It's almost 4:00 am, it's coming sooner than you think. Besides, if anything happens in the meantime, I'll come and get you." Dr. Brown promised.

Haley quickly turned to Nathan "I'm gonna call Deb first and let her and Jamie know you're ok, but then I'm gonna see Lucas and Peyton, alright?"

"I guess it's going to have to be." Nathan said displeased.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

In another room on the opposite end of the floor lied a comatose Peyton, hooked up to several monitors and machines with a teary-eyed Lucas sitting at her bedside, holding her hand. There was a soft knock at the door. Lucas turned around to see Brooke.

"Can I come in?"

He nodded his head yes and Brooke entered the room. She walked over to Peyton's bedside. "She still looks so beautiful." Brooke said as she tried to blink back tears "But so helpless."

"I know." Lucas said not taking his gaze off of Peyton.

There was momentary silence before Brooke talked again "I sent everyone else home. They all really wanted to stay but--"

"There's nothing any one of them can do. I know. It's ok."

The two were suddenly interrupted by a nurse. "I'm sorry Ms., but you can't be in here. It's after hours and only family is allowed to visit now."

"She is family" Lucas stated simply, still not looking up. "Their sisters."

The nurse looked at Brooke for confirmation and Brooke nodded her head up and down "Yes, we're sisters."

The nurse seemed slightly skeptical, but was willing to take their word for it. "Well alright then, I'll leave you alone." And the nurse then exited the room.

"Thanks for letting me stay." Brooke said to Lucas.

"There's no need to thank me. Peyton would want you here with me. I want you hear with me."

Brooke smiled sadly and went over to Lucas and the two shared hugged. The two eventually pulled away and suddenly heard another knock on the door. This time it was Haley.

Haley rushed over to Lucas and Brooke "How is she doing? Dr. Brown told me what happened. Has she made any progress?"

Lucas shook his head "No, there's no change."

Haley hugged Lucas and whispered into his ear "I'm so sorry Luke."

"I know." Lucas said as he broke away from their embrace and focused his attention back on to Peyton. "How's Nate doing?"

"He's fine. He really wants to see Peyton, but the doctor won't let him. Nathan—he feels so terrible."

Lucas turned to Haley "Nathan has nothing to feel bad about. This wasn't his fault. It was an accident. Accidents will happen. I just hate how they always happen to good people. Peyton…she didn't deserve this. It's not fair...it's just not fair."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

A few more hours had passed. The night had vanished. The sun had awoken Brooke, who had been sleeping in a chair beside Peyton's bed. As she regained her bearings and widened her eyes she noticed Lucas, who was still in the same position he had been in all night, and very much awake.

"How long have I been asleep?" Brooke asked groggily

Lucas checked his watch "Not that long. Just a few hours. It's almost 12."

"Still no change?" Brooke asked hopeful, but pretty much already knowing the answer.

"No change."

A light bulb suddenly went off in Lucas's head "I just remembered. My mom, Elizabeth, Lily and Andy are coming back today. I have to pick them up at the airport in an hour."

"No, I can pick them up for you. Stay here with Peyton." They sat together in silence for a bit before Brooke spoke again. "Did you talk to your mom last night? Do they know what happened?"

"I called her a couple of hours ago while you were sleeping. They all know except for Elizabeth. She should hear it from me…I want to be the one who tells her. I just wish I knew how…I mean, how am I suppose to tell my four-year-old that her mommy was in an accident and may never wake up again?"

Lucas sighed softly and focused his attention back to Peyton. Brooke sighed too. "This is just so terrible."

Lucas brought his hand over to Peyton's face and gently rubbed her cheek "It's like a nightmare. A nightmare that, no matter how hard you try--"

"You just can't wake up from." finished a familiar voice from behind Lucas and Brooke. They turned around to see Nathan standing before them. "How's she doing Luke?"

"She hasn't gotten worse, but there's been no progress either. The doctor says we just have to wait and see what happens."

Nathan ran a hand through his hair "Luke I feel like such crap—"

Lucas cut him off. "Nathan stop. Don't blame yourself."

Nathan was about to say something when Haley entered the room "Nate, there's something Dr. Brown wanted to talk to us about before they release you. We need to go."

Nate sighed. "Alright. Luke, I'm here, ok. Whatever you need, I'm here."

Lucas smiled softly "Thanks Nate. I appreciate that."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Nathan and Haley left Peyton's room and headed back into his. They started to put together some of his things when Dr. Brown entered with a police officer.

"Nathan, Haley, this is Officer Jenkins. We'd both like to talk to you about the crash and ask a few questions."

Haley sat down in a chair by Nathan's bed, while Nate remained in place "OK, what do you need to know."

Officer Jenkins took out a note pad and pencil "What was the last thing you remember before waking up in the hospital last night?"

Nathan pondered the officer's question for a moment before answering "I don't know…one minute Peyton and I were talking…the next I'm waking up here. I have no idea what happened."

"Were you feeling ill at all last night, prior to the accident?" Dr. Brown asked.

Nathan shook his head no, but then came to a realization "Well, my stomach was bothering me a little bit. It wasn't that serious though."

Officer Jenkins nodded and jotted a few notes. "Now we know through the tests that Dr. Brown ran that you weren't drunk, but did you have any drinks last night?"

"I had one screwdriver that Peyton bought me. But that's it."

"Are you still taking Rohypnol—the sleeping medication that your regular doctor has prescribed you?" Dr. Brown asked.

"For my insomnia? No, I haven't taken any in a while." Nathan was growing a bit agitated. "What's this all about?"

Dr. Brown sighed "Nathan, you had an exceedingly high amount of Flunitrazepam…the Rohypnol…in your system."

Nathan looked confused "That's impossible. I didn't take any."

Officer Jenkins appeared to be growing frustrated "Son, be honest with us. Things will go a lot smoother if you tell us the truth. How long have you been addicted to Rohypnol?"

"I'm not!" Nathan shouted back.

Dr. Brown ran her fingers through her hair "Look Nathan, these tests don't lie. I ran them three times. You had an excess amount of the Rohypnol, along with the one drink, running through your body. The accident was most likely caused by a seizure, provoked by an overdose; you most likely blacked out and then crashed the vehicle. I had my suspicions last night, but I wanted to wait to talk to you about it with the officer under the given circumstances."

Haley got up from her chair and joined a shocked Nathan. "This is absurd."

Officer Jenkin's scribbled another note "Mr. Scott, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to think about it carefully before giving me your answer. Did you or did you not take an excess amount of Rohypnol while drinking and then get behind the wheel of a moving vehicle?"

"Like I told you before…I didn't take anything!" Nathan began pacing the room. "This is crazy! I can't believe you think that I am a Rohypnol addict who OD'd behind the wheel and crashed my car."

Haley shook her head in disbelief "That's ludicrous."

"You can think what you want Mrs. Scott, but the evidence is too strong to ignore. I'm afraid we're going to have to take your husband in."

Officer Jenkins led Nathan out of the hospital room and Haley and Dr. Brown followed. He placed Nathan's hands in handcuffs and began to read him his rights: "Nathan Scott, you are under the arrest for driving under the influence. You have the right to remain silent. If you choose to give up that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney--"

Nathan interrupted "I cannot believe you think I would get behind the wheel drugged up. This is absolutely insane!"

Officer Jenkins ignored Nathan and continued reading him his rights "If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to you—"

Haley began to sob softly "I can't believe this happening!"

"Yeah neither can I." came a voice from behind

Nathan, Haley, Dr. Brown and Officer Jenkins turned around and came face to face with Lucas.

Nathan shook his head "Luke, I know this looks really bad, but I swear I didn't—"

Lucas cut him off "You don't need to say another word Nathan. I've already heard everything I need to hear."

"Lucas, please--" Nathan pleaded.

Lucas's eyes grew devilish and angry "What could you possibly have to say Nathan!? I trusted you with one of the two most important people in my life and you blew it! Peyton's lying in a coma and might never wake up because you were trying to drive her home all drugged out! What you did is unforgivable."

"But Lucas, I--"

"I don't know who you are anymore Nathan, but I do know one thing. You are not my brother. Because my brother never would have done what you did. Take him downtown." Lucas told Officer Jenkins. "I want him out of my sight."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**I hope you all enjoyed!!**

**Dan is the one who comes to Nathan and Peyton's rescue…Peyton's in a coma, struggling to hang on…Nathan's charged with a DUI and an angry Lucas has disowned his brother. Sooo what do you all think? Do you think there's been some sort of mistake or that Nathan is lying? Hmm…and what do you think happen with Haley, Brooke and the rest of the gang once they hear of the arrest…will sides be taken? Will Peyton wake up? **

**Thank you for reading and please review!! I will continue to this story, but only if I know people are reading.**


	3. Guilty Until Proven Innocent

**Guilty Until Proven Innocent**

"Haley! Thank God, you're finally here. Did you post the bail?"

She shook her head yes as she entered the interrogation room Nathan had been placed in. "There's just some paperwork that needs to be filed and then you'll be released." Nathan sighed in relief as the guard closed the door behind them.

"I called our attorney too." Haley said taking a seat next to Nathan. "He's talking to the officials right now to figure out the exact charges. He'll be here to talk with us in a minute."

The two sat together for a long while in complete silence before Nathan finally asked "Haley, you believe me right?"

Haley took a moment to answer before finally saying "Yeah."

Nathan looked at his wife hesitantly, unconvinced she actually believed him "Haley, you can't honestly think that I would ever do all of the things that I'm being accused of."

Haley sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "No, Nathan I do believe you. I really do. It's just…this whole situation is so horrible. Peyton's in a coma, Luke's an angry mess and you're arrested. Just last night life was perfect and now…it's a wreck."

Before Nathan could respond the couple was interrupted by their attorney, Mike Cummings.

Mike entered the room, walked over to Nathan and extended his hand to him. "Nathan, it's nice to see you again, though I wish it were under better terms."

Nate stood up and shook his hand "Likewise."

"Alright then, let's get down to business." Mike took a seat in a nearby chair next to Nathan and Haley.

"So what exactly is the charge?" Nathan asked anxiously.

"It's a felony DUI, unfortunately."

"A felony?!" asked a shocked Haley. "But I thought DUI's were usually misdemeanors."

"Sometimes they are. It depends on the situation. Due to the fact that there was an accident and because your sister-in-law was so badly injured, your DUI was raised to a felony."

Nathan got up from his seat and began pacing "This is all so crazy! I shouldn't even be charged with a DUI! Something's not right here. There had to be some mix-up at the hospital."

Mike shook his head "Those tests were ran three times. Everything seems legit."

"Great, you don't believe me either."

Mike sighed "I didn't say that. And in all honesty, it doesn't really matter what I think. My job is to try and get you out of this felony charge and that's what I intend to do."

"How do you plan to do that?" Haley asked.

Mike took in a deep breath. "I've talked to the ADA and he offered a deal. If you plead guilty to a lesser charge, a misdemeanor, you'll escape a long sentence…you'll have to serve two, maybe three months tops. You'll have to do a little community service, attend rehab, and pay a fine too, but all in all it's a pretty good deal. What do you think?"

Nathan took a minute to think it over before giving Mike his answer "No, I won't take it."

Mike shook his head "Nathan, I really think you should reconsider."

"Absolutely not! There's no way I'm going to admit to doing something that I didn't do. I want to go trial."

"Nathan, you'd be taking a huge risk by going to trial." Mike warned his client. "If you don't take this deal, the felony DUI charges stands. And with it, a huge prison term if you're convicted. And let's be honest here, there's a good chance that could happen. Especially if the prosecution calls on your brother to testify. A sympathetic jury hearing his story won't think twice about convicting you, whether reasonable doubt exist or not."

"I'd still rather take my chances in court."

Mike was starting to grow slightly frustrated with his client's stubbornness. "Ok, so what if your sister-in-law dies?"

"Peyton's not going to die!" Nathan shouted. "She's strong, she's gonna pull through."

"But what if she doesn't Nathan? What if today you turn this deal down and tomorrow she dies. Your DUI becomes vehicular manslaughter."

Haley gasped in fright and Nathan looked taken aback. He went and sat back down next to Haley and put his arm around her in an effort to comfort her. "I hear what you're saying Mike. I do. But I couldn't live with myself if I admitted to the charges. I did not, nor would I ever, get behind a wheel drugged up. Never would I do something so dumb. I would never put Peyton's or anybody else's life in danger out of stupidity. That's not the kind of guy I am. Lucas needs to know that and he won't if I give in to this deal. I need my brother to believe in me again and I'll do whatever it takes to try and prove that he still can."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_At the Hospital..._

"Oh Lucas!" Karen headed over to her son and engulfed him in a big hug. "How's Peyton?"

"It's not good." Lucas answered her honestly, breaking free from his mom and heading back over to Peyton's bedside. "And things just keep getting worse."

"How do you mean?" Karen asked as she took a seat near her son.

Lucas sighed "The police came to the hospital today and arrested Nathan."

Karen looked shocked "Really?! For what?"

"Driving under the influence. He OD'd at the wheel and that's how he crashed the car into the tree."

Karen looked at Lucas in disbelief "What?! Oh my gosh. That doesn't sound like Nathan at all."

"Well he did. His doctor ran a bunch of tests and discovered an exceedingly high amount of some sort of sleeping medication in his system."

Karen just shook her head "I can't believe this is happening."

"Neither can I. But it did. And Nathan…he's no better than Dan. He could rot in a prison cell for the rest of his life for all I care."

Lucas and Karen sat together in quiet for a while, both not saying a word, before Karen finally spoke "Elizabeth has been asking for you. And Peyton. She's been dying to tell you about her trip." Karen sighed. "She's just so happy right now."

"And in a short while I'm going to have to break her little heart." Lucas put his head into his hands. "How am I suppose to tell her about Peyton?"

"I don't know." Karen answered honestly. "But you will find a way. Because you have to. Elizabeth's gonna need you to be strong Luke."

"I know. And I will be."

"Andy's waiting to drive us back to the house. Brooke's there with Lily and Elizabeth. Are you ready to do this?"

"No." Lucas answered honestly, getting up from his chair. "But Elizabeth needs to know the truth. She needs to hear it from me and she needs to hear it now."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Lucas, Karen and Andy left the hospital and within a few minutes arrived at Lucas's home.

They walked up to the door and Lucas placed his hand on the knob and paused. He took in a deep breath. "I can do this." He turned the knob and entered the house.

The trio was first greeted by Lily, who had been drawing in the family room. She immediately ran over to Lucas and hugged him tightly. "Mom told me about Peyton. Is she going to be ok?"

"I hope so." Luke said as he broke from the embrace and gave his sister a half-hearted smile. "Is Elizabeth upstairs?"

Lily nodded. "Yeah, with Brooke."

Lucas headed up the stairs and headed for his daughter's room. He knocked softly on the cracked door and entered the room. Elizabeth, who had been busy brushing Brooke's hair, hopped off her bed and ran over to Lucas as soon as she saw him.

"Daddy! I missed you!" Elizabeth said hugging Lucas's legs.

Lucas bent down and picked his little girl up. "I missed you too munchkin. More than you know."

Elizabeth hugged Lucas tightly, then jumped out of his arms and headed back over to her bed and continued playing with Brooke's hair. "I had the best time with Grandma, Grandpa and Lily."

Lucas walked over to his daughter's bed and sat down. "I can't wait to hear about it."

"I want to tell you and Mommy about it together. Where is Mommy? Is she downstairs?"

Lucas sighed. "Lizzie there's something I want to talk to you about."

Brooke took the brush from Elizabeth's hand and placed it on the dresser. "I'm gonna go and let you two talk alone. I'll be downstairs with Karen and everyone if you need me." Brooke gave Lucas an encouraging smile and exited the room.

"Daddy why are you sad? And where's Mommy?"

Lucas scooped his little girl up onto his lap "That's what I want to talk to you about. Lizzie, Mommy had an accident."

Elizabeth's eyes turned scared "What kind of accident?"

Luke took in a deep breath. "She was in a car accident."

"Is Mommy ok?" Elizabeth asked timidly, the tears beginning to well up in her beautiful green eyes.

Seeing the tears in his daughter's eyes just absolutely crushed Lucas's heart and tears had started to build up in his eyes as well. But he knew he needed to try and stay strong for Elizabeth so he tried to blink back the tears. "Lizzie…Mommy…she hit her head…really hard and now she's in something called a coma. Do you know what that is?"

Elizabeth just shook her head no.

"It's kind of like she's sleeping, but is having trouble waking up."

"But she's going to wake up right?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

Lucas paused for a moment as he thought about what to say. He didn't want to lay too much on her, but he didn't want to lie to her either. Peyton had always stressed to Lucas how important it was that they are as honest as possible with Elizabeth and that's exactly what he was going to be. Honest. "I'm not sure Lizzie. But I hope so. I really hope so."

The tears that had been building up in Elizabeth's eyes were now falling down her face. She was full on crying now. "I want Mommy!" Elizabeth dug her head into her father's chest and Lucas held her tightly.

"I know you do Lizzie." Lucas said as he rocked his daughter gently, back and forth. "So do I."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It took Lucas over an hour to rock a crying Elizabeth to sleep. Once he had, he closed her bedroom door and headed back downstairs.

Luke entered his living room, where he was met by Karen and Brooke. Andy and Lily were in the kitchen.

"How did she take it?" Karen asked worriedly.

"Like I thought she would. Horribly." Lucas sighed deeply. "She cried herself to sleep. I'm really worried about her."

Brooke just shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe this happening! And I'm still beyond shocked that the police arrested Nathan for a DUI!"

"So you told her about Nathan?" Luke asked his mom. Karen shook her head yes.

Karen and Brooke walked over to Lucas and engulfed him in a gigantic hug.

"Peyton's going to be ok Lucas." Brooke whispered into his ears. "She's a fighter."

Lucas broke from the embrace and glanced at his watch. "I can't believe it's almost four. I really want to get back to the hospital, but I don't want to leave Elizabeth."

"Luke, you should go and visit with Peyton." Karen said to her son. "I'll be here with Lizzie."

"Me too." Brooke chimed in.

Luke remained hesitant "I don't know. What if she wakes up while I'm not here?"

"Then we'll call you." Karen and Brooke answered in unison.

Lucas still felt very uneasy about leaving his little girl, even though she was asleep and though it would only be for a few hours, but he really wanted to spend some more time with Peyton. "Alright, I'm gonna go, but I won't be gone long. Call me as soon as she wakes up."

Brooke and Karen nodded in agreement and Lucas headed for the front door and exited his house. He headed toward his car and just as he was about to open the driver's side door, he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a familiar voice come from behind him. "Hey Luke, can we talk?"

Lucas turned around and came face to face with Haley.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Haley I really—"

"I know you want to get back to the hospital and see Peyton." Haley said interrupting. "But I really would like to talk to you. Just give me five minutes, please?"

Lucas finally conceded "OK, but only five minutes."

Haley nodded and the two started walking off together down the street.

"I've tried calling you. I don't blame you for not calling me back, I just—I really wanted to see how you're doing."

Haley paused, waiting for Lucas to respond, but he didn't.

"Luke, please say something. Anything."

Lucas stopped walking and stared straight into Haley's eyes. "What do you want me to say, Haley? My wife's in a coma and your husband is the one that put her there. How do you think I'm feeling?"

"But Luke you know that Nathan would never—"

"Defend him if you want to Haley, but you know it's the truth."

Haley sighed in frustration "This whole situation is really messed up, but Lucas, I care about you. You, Peyton and Lizzie. I want her to be ok. I want to be there for you. Please let me."

Lucas adamantly shook his head no. "How can I let you in? You're defending the man who almost killed Peyton!"

"He's my husband Lucas!" Haley shouted.

"And Peyton's my wife!" Lucas shouted back angrily. "You have no idea what I'm going through right now! I'm a mess Haley. And Elizabeth's devastated!"

Haley began growing teary-eyed. "I'm so sorry Lucas. I am. But, Nathan…he says he didn't do it. How do you know that this isn't just some big mistake? You know none of this makes any sense. Just use your head and take a second to really reflect on this whole situation."

"I have and there's no mistake! Nathan's guilty. Maybe if you stop listening to your heart and took your own advice, you'd see the truth too."

Luke started to walk away when Haley shouted out to him "Lucas, I really think---"

He quickly turned back around and interrupted her "I don't have time to argue with you anymore, ok? Try and prove him innocent if you want to. I don't care. I need to go and be with Peyton."

"Luke wait—"

"Haley, a line's been drawn in the sand and I refuse to associate myself with anyone who's trying to straddle both sides. Support Nathan if you want to. Just don't expect to be a part of my life so long as you do."

Lucas and Haley momentarily stared at one another before Lucas finally turned back around and continued on his way.

**Ok so I hope you liked it! I don't think it's my best, but I hope you liked it anyway! ****I have some real juicy stuff coming up later, I promise. Please, please review!! I really appreciate all of them so much, they are great motivation. Alright, so a line has been drawn in the sand and Lucas has shut Haley out. Who do you all think Brooke will support? And what's going to happen when/if Peyton wakes up? Hmm...I don't know...I hope you guys keep on reading to find out. There's a lot more still to come...drama, angst, confessions, and betrayal.**


	4. It's All Your Fault

**It's All Your Fault**

Lucas gently closed his front door as he entered into his home. He sighed softly and placed his car keys on a near by stand. As he entered into his living room he saw Brooke and Elizabeth, curled up together on the couch, fast asleep.

Lucas smiled softly and carefully lifted Elizabeth up from the couch into his arms and nudged Brooke lightly on the shoulder. "Hey Brooke, wake up."

Brooke's eyes fluttered and she quickly awakened. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Luke, when did you get back?"

"Just now." Lucas said as he gently rocked a sleeping Elizabeth. "Did my mom, Andy and Lily leave?" He asked.

"Yeah, a little while ago. They were all really jet lagged and since your guestroom's still being refurnished they decided to just get a room at that Inn by Tric. They're going to stop over tomorrow afternoon."

"You could have called me to come home when my mom left. You didn't have to stay this late."

Brooke adamantly shook her head no. "You know I don't mind Luke."

Lucas gave Brooke a half-hearted smile in appreciation. "So I'm guessing Lizzie woke up?" Lucas asked as he glanced down at his daughter, who still lied peacefully asleep in his protective arms.

Brooke nodded her head yes. "She came downstairs while I was out here reading. She didn't say anything…just came over, laid down and eventually fell asleep beside me. I know you wanted me to call you if she woke up, but you hadn't been gone all that long and I wanted you to be able to spend at least a little bit more time with Peyton."

Lucas nodded his head in understanding. "Alright, well I'm gonna get her to bed. I'll be back in a second."

Lucas slowly headed out of the living room and headed up the stairs toward Elizabeth's room. He turned on her bedside lamp, pulled back her covers and gently placed his daughter into her bed. As he placed the covers over her, Elizabeth began to fidget. Lucas thought he had awoken her, but she soon stopped moving and Lucas sighed in relief.

"I love you so much Lizzie." Lucas whispered to his sleeping daughter. "More than you'll ever know." He bent down and kissed Elizabeth's forehead. He then cut off her lamp and headed toward the door, taking one last look at his little girl before exiting the room and quietly closing the door behind him.

Lucas walked back downstairs and saw Brooke gathering up her things in the living room. He walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you Brooke. For being there for me today. For Lizzie. It really means a lot. You're a good friend."

"Anytime Luke. Day or night, rain or shine. I will always be here for you guys."

Lucas broke from the embrace and gave her a small smile. "That's really good to know. Especially since I've lost the one friend that's always been there for me since the beginning."

Brooke eyed him confused. "Did something happen with Haley?"

Lucas ran his hands through his hair and took a seat on his sofa. "Yeah. I saw her before I headed off to the hospital. We had words…I said some things…some pretty mean things."

Brooke went and sat down beside him. "I'm sure she knows you didn't mean any of it Luke."

"But, that's the thing. I don't really regret anything I said. Maybe how it came out, but that's all. I meant everything I said."

Brooke sighed. "Well what happened exactly?"

"I told her I wanted her out of my life."

"Oh Luke…"

Lucas cut Brooke off. "She defended him. Nathan. And it just felt as though she expected me to be OK with that. But it's no OK, Brooke. It's not OK."

"I know it's not Luke. I know."

Lucas got up from the couch and began pacing around the room. "Am I wrong Brooke? For feeling how I do?"

Brooke took a minute to clear her thoughts before answering "I don't really think there's a clear cut way you should be feeling. This whole thing…it's a really difficult, complex situation. I don't think anyone could blame you for feeling as you do."

Lucas's living room filled with silence before Brooke finally spoke up again. "So what's going to happen tomorrow? Have you thought about whether or not you're going to take Elizabeth to see Peyton?"

Lucas stopped pacing and diverted his attention Brooke. "I'm not sure. If she wants to see her, then I'll let her. But if she's too scared I'm not going to force her to."

Brooke simply nodded. "Well if you need me to watch her or anything, just let me know."

"Thanks Brooke. I really appreciate that."

Brooke grabbed her purse and got up from the sofa. "Alright, well I better get going."

Lucas walked Brooke to the door. "Remember Luke, I'm just a phone call away. If you need me, call OK?"

Lucas nodded and Brooke gave him a half-hearted smile before heading off to her car and driving off.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

All was quiet at the other Scott household. Jamie had already gone to bed and Nathan and Haley were preparing to do the same. Haley, already in her night gown, was in their bathroom brushing her hair, while Nathan was in their room changing out of his clothes.

Once Haley had finished in the bathroom, she headed into her bedroom. She walked passed Nathan, slid into bed, turned off her bedside lamp and shut her eyes.

After Nathan had finished, he turned off his own lamp and got into bed. He lied there in the darkness, finding it nearly impossible to fall asleep. He turned over to Haley and gently shook her. "Hales, you asleep?"

"Of course I'm not." Haley snapped, without turning around to face Nathan.

"Alright you have been snapping at me all day long. Ever since you got back from seeing Lucas. What happened? What's wrong?"

Haley sat up and turned to face Nathan. "What's wrong? What's wrong?! Are you really asking me that right now?! Everything is wrong Nathan! Peyton…she might die…and now my best friend of over 20 years wants absolutely nothing to do with me because of you! Because I'm defending the man he thinks put his wife in a coma!"

Haley paused momentarily before continuing. "Nathan I swear to God if you're lying to me about this---"

"Haley" an agitated Nathan said, cutting his wife off. "I've told you a million times, that I am not lying."

Nathan turned on his bedside lamp and hopped out of bed. "What exactly did Lucas say to you that is causing you to doubt me all of a sudden?"

Haley remained silent.

"Look Haley, Luke's a mess right now. And understandably so. But he's not looking at this whole situation clearly. He's not thinking with his head, but with his heart."

"Yeah well maybe he's not the only one!" Haley retorted, throwing her hands up in the air.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Maybe my love for you has been blinding me…keeping me from realizing the obvious."

Nathan folded his arms over his chest. "The obvious, huh? Obviously I would go out, get high on some pills…considering the fact that I'm a druggie and all. Then I would go OUT OF MY WAY to offer Peyton a ride home, knowing that I could possibly OD at anytime during this drive to her house. It all makes just perfect sense!"

Haley again remained quiet. The two gazed at each other before Nathan finally looked away.

He went and grabbed a pair of pants from a near by chair. "Unbelievable. Ok, I'm done trying to defend myself to you or anyone else for that matter. I'm leaving"

Haley rolled her eyes. "Nathan, stop. Just come back to bed."

"No I can't be here right now." Nathan said pulling a shirt over his head.

"Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here will be fine." Nathan answered as he finished putting on a pair of sneakers.

"You know you can't dr—"

Nathan cut her off. "Relax, I'm calling a cab!" He shouted as he left the room and slammed their bedroom door shut.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You're home."

Brook tossed her coat on a near by chair, plopped her keys on the coffee table, walked over to Chase and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. "Yeah I'm home. Thank you for waiting up for me."

"No problem." Chase smiled at Brooke. "So how are things with Peyton? Has there been any change? How's Lucas?"

Brooke sighed. "There's still no change. Luke's a wreck. Lizzie's a wreck. Everything's just really bad."

"I still can't believe Nathan was arrested for a DUI." Chase said as he headed into the kitchen, with Brooke following close behind. "My jaw literally dropped to the floor in shock when you called earlier and told me that."

Brooke opened up the refrigerator, took out some iced tea and poured some into a nearby empty glass. "Yeah, this whole thing is just crazy."

"Do you believe he really did it? Take those drugs and then get behind the wheel?" Chase asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Brooke took a sip of her drink and sat down next to Chase. "I don't know. I mean, he definitely overdosed, but that doesn't really prove anything. I didn't see him take anything. Nathan was on his like best behavior. He only had that one drink the entire night."

Brooke paused for a moment, taking another sip of her tea before continuing. "But then again, he's had problems with pills in the past. And just because I didn't see him take anything, doesn't mean he didn't at some point."

"Lucas is pretty sure Nate's guilt though right?" Chase asked.

Brooke nodded. "Yup, he's pretty much convinced. I'm so worried about him. And Lizzie…she hasn't really spoken since Luke told her about the accident. I wish I could do more to help them."

Chase just shook his head. "But you can't. You can't make Peyton wake up."

"I know. I guess all I can do is be there to support Lucas and Lizzie. As Peyton's best friend, I feel as though that's my duty; to help take care of her family until she comes back to us."

"That's all you can do."

"Yeah."

The two sat together in silence for a while before Chase spoke up. "So have you tried talking to Nathan, or even Haley?"

Brooke shook her head no. "I haven't spoken to either of them in a while. But Lucas…he's talked with Haley. Well more like, had fought with her. Let's just say Luke's not too fond of her at the moment."

Chase yawned. "Yeah well that makes sense. I mean, if Haley's supporting Nathan, then I can totally see why he'd be upset with her."

Brooke just slowly nodded her head in agreement. She took one last sip of her tea before getting up from her chair and placing the empty glass in the sink. It was at that moment she had made a sudden realization.

Brooke suddenly grabbed at her empty wrist. "My bracelet. It's gone."

"Which bracelet are you talking about?" Chase asked.

She turned around to face him. "The silver one with the little heart. You know the one that Peyton loves and is always borrowing from me. I wore it last night at the party. I remember taking it off when I was in Peyton's room, because I had planned on putting it on her wrist this morning, but I never did. I got sidetracked."

"You probably put it down somewhere in there."

"I have to find that bracelet" said a flustered Brooke walking out of the kitchen, with Chase following close by. "I'm going over to the hospital. Hopefully it's still there and no shady nurse picked it up."

"It's late Brooke; do you think they'll let you in?"

Brooke grabbed her coat, zipped it up and picked up her car keys. "I'm family; they'll let me see her."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Please, will you let me see her?"

"I'm sorry, but you can't." replied a pretty young red-headed nurse, blocking the entrance to Peyton's hospital room. "It's late. Visiting hours are over."

"But I'm family." Nathan said to the nurse, hoping that would help his cause.

"Who are you?" the skeptical nurse asked. What's the relation?"

_"I better not give her my name."_ Nathan thought to himself.

"Peyton's husband Lucas…he's my---cousin. I'm his cousin. Jamie Scott. And Peyton…she's been a friend of mine for many years. We even dated once upon a time ago. Please, will you just let me see her?"

The nurse still appeared slightly hesitant. "Look, I'm a new nurse. It's my first night doing an overnight here. I know she's family and that you want to see her, but you're not immediate family and I really don't want to break any rules on my first night."

"I don't want to get you in any trouble. I really don't." Nathan told the nurse honestly. "It's just—I really need to see Peyton. I promise to keep the visit short. I'll be no more than ten minutes."

"And you're really family?" the nurse asked.

Nathan nodded his head and crossed his heart. "Yes, I swear."

After a moment's contemplation, the nurse finally decided to give in. "Alright, you can see her. But only for a few minutes. I have to go and check on a few other patients down the hall. When I come back over here—"

"I'll be gone." Nathan said cutting her off.

Now content, the nurse gave Nathan a small smile and headed down the hall as Nathan headed into Peyton's room.

Nathan entered into Peyton's hospital room, gently closing the door behind him, though not hard enough, as he left it slightly ajar. He didn't seem to notice, as he continued into the room and walked over to her bedside and sat down in a near by chair.

"Oh Peyton." Nathan said gazing at his sister-in-law and growing teary-eyed. "This never should have happened. You…you don't deserve this." Finding himself getting too choked up to continue speaking, Nathan simply grabbed Peyton's hand and held it.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Excuse me!" Brooke shouted out, waving her hand at the red-headed nurse near by.

The nurse, who had been busy arranging files, looked up at Brooke. "How can I help you?"

"My name's Brooke. Brooke Davis. I was here earlier, visiting Peyton Scott. I was wondering if I could go and see her. I think I might have lost something in her room…a bracelet that I wanted to have her wear. I know it's late, but it was on my mind and I—"

The nurse cut her off. "Is she family?"

Brooke nodded. "She's my sister. And if you don't believe me you could call up the blonde day nurse, ugh what's her name…" Brooke pondered momentarily before remembering. "Valerie!…she'll vouch for me."

The nurse, sensing Brooke was being genuine, gently shook her head. "No that won't be necessary. It's fine if you go and see her. Just as soon as Mr. Scott's left, you're free to visit with her."

"That's weird." Brooke said aloud to herself. She averted her attention back to the nurse. "But Lucas is home. Who else would be here visiting Peyton at this hour?"

"His cousin Jamie's here."

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Cousin Jamie, huh? Now cousin Jamie…would he be tall, athletic like, with dark hair and blue eyes?"

The nurse shook her head yes.

Brooke absent mindedly nodded her head. "I figured as much."

"He is family, isn't he?" the nurse asked worriedly.

"Oh he's family alright." Brooke answered. "Look, I know you wanted me to wait until Jamie left, but I have a feeling he won't mind me butting in on his visit with Peyton."

Not waiting to hear permission from the nurse, Brooke began walking down the hall towards Peyton's room.

"Gosh Nathan…what was he thinking?" Brooke said quietly to herself. "He is so lucky it's me and not Lucas who decided to pay an unexpected visit to Peyton tonight."

Once Brooke reached Peyton's room she noticed the door was left slightly ajar. She peeked in and saw Nathan quietly sitting next to Peyton's bedside, holding her hand and crying very softly. Brooke was slightly taken aback, and instead of barging into the room, like she had planned on doing, she remained outside the door, watching intently.

Nathan, completely unaware of Brooke's presence, wiped away his tears, cleared his throat and began speaking to a comatose Peyton. "I have done some pretty rotten things and I haven't always been the greatest guy, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that. Probably better than anyone else."

Nathan paused momentarily. He took in a deep breath and then continued.

"I used to think that that Nathan was in the past, but maybe I've only kidding myself….you know, I've been really defensive lately about these accusations and perhaps that's because there's an element of truth to them. The accident…it shouldn't have happened. It wouldn't have happened if I had never taken---"

Nathan stopped speaking and cupped his face into his hands. "I'm so sorry Peyton. I've been trying to block Lucas and now Haley's accusations from my mind, but I can't because they're right. They're absolutely right. This is all my fault. Everything's all my fault."

**Oh the drama! It appears as though Lucas got to Haley a bit. And now maybe both Lucas and Haley have gotten to Nathan...**

**Anyways, for next time...Nathan makes a confession to a comatose Peyton, while Brooke listens in. What exactly does he say and will Brooke keep it a secret? **

**And still to come…**

**Dan reveals a shocking secret to Lucas about Peyton's past**

**More Naley angst, Peyton flashbacks, and the return of Julian to Tree Hill**

**I hope you all liked this chapter! Thanks to all of those who review. Keep them coming...they mean the world to me:)The next chapter will be up soon. Promise!**


	5. Listen to Your Heart

**Listen to Your Heart**

Nathan stared into Peyton's emotionless face as he began to spill his heart out to her.

"This is all my fault. Everything's all my fault. Before we got into my car---I had this weird feeling. I knew that something was a little off with me. But instead of saying something I disregarded it…because I didn't think it was that big of a deal. But I was wrong…so very wrong."

Nathan paused once more as Brooke continued to look on, somewhat surprised at everything she had heard thus far.

"I—I didn't knowingly take any pills Peyton. You have to believe me about that. But I still should have realized that I had ingested something. If I had…I never would have gotten behind that wheel to drive you home."

Nathan wiped a tear from his eye. "But I didn't realize it. I should have, but I didn't. And now you're lying here in this coma. Peyton…Lucas and Lizzie…they really need you to wake up. I—I need you to wake up, because I don't know how I would continue on living my life knowing that I destroyed the lives of my brother and his daughter. I hope you can wake up Peyton…and that when you do, you can somehow find it in your heart to forgive me for everything I've done. For all of this pain I've caused."

Nathan quieted once more, while Brooke stood by the door, looking shocked.

_"He really didn't do it."_ Brooke thought to herself. She decided to now make her presence known and she slowly opened the already cracked door and entered into Peyton's room.

A startled Nathan looked up and was very surprised to see Brooke standing before him. "Brooke, what are you doing here?"

Spotting the silver bracelet on the floor by Nathan's foot, Brooke picked it up. "To look for my bracelet and give it to Peyton." She then bent down to Peyton's bedside and gently placed the bracelet on her right wrist, taking a moment to get a good look at her.

"How long have you been here?" Nathan asked.

"Long enough."

Brooke grabbed a chair and moved it beside Nathan's and sat down. "Nathan I believe you. About the drugs. When you said you didn't take them. I believe you."

"But why?" Nathan asked, looking into Brooke's eyes. "Why do you believe me when practically nobody else does?"

"Because." Brooke began, taking in a deep breath. "You didn't know I was watching. You had your chance to admit to everything. No one ever would have found out. But you didn't confess. And that's because you didn't do it."

Nathan diverted his attention back to Peyton. "Nobody else believes me. And you know what? It doesn't even matter anymore really. Because I--I should have known that something was wrong with me. But I didn't and I drove that car and I crashed it into that tree."

"In hindsight it might seem as though you should have realized that you had maybe accidentally ingested something, but Nathan, there's no way you or anyone else could have predicted that that off feeling you had would turn out to be so much more. Stop blaming yourself. I don't want you to. And I honestly believe that if Peyton were awake right now and knew the truth about the whole incident, she wouldn't want you to blame yourself either."

Nathan looked back over at Brooke. "But she can't tell me that Brooke. Because she's in that coma…a coma that I put her in."

Brooke sighed. "You didn't put Peyton in that coma. Someone probably put that drug in your drink when you weren't looking and the person who drugged you…that's the one who put her in a coma."

"You know, from the moment I heard about the drug accusation, I knew I had to have been slipped something…but I just---I don't know when it could have happened. I mean, I only had that one drink that Peyton bought me and I---" Nathan suddenly stopped speaking.

"You what?" Brooke asked anxiously.

"I left it. Peyton and I…we left our drinks to go dance. It was only for a few minutes, but…" His voiced trailed off.

"But long enough for someone to slip you something." Brooke finished.

Nathan threw up his hands. "Gosh, how I could I be such an idiot! Never leave your drink unattended. That's like the number one rule to remember when you're out."

Nathan momentarily stopped talking and pondered for a few moments before speaking again. "But who could have…why would anyone do that?"

Brooke shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. But that's what you need to find out. And I'll help you do that."

Nathan adamantly shook his head. "No, I don't want you to do that. If Lucas ever found, he'd just push you away like he's done with Haley and I don't want that to happen. He needs a friend…at least one really good friend that will be there for him."

"But you're my friend too Nathan."

"Yeah, but Lucas needs you more right now."

Brooke nodded. "Ok, but just now that I am here for you Nathan. And I will always be here for you…in whatever way you want me to be."

"I appreciate that."

Brooke nodded again, then glanced down at her cell. "It's really late. That nurse is probably wondering why we've been in here for so long."

"Yeah, we better get going."

Brooke got up from her chair. "Do you want to give you a ride home?"

Nathan shook his head no as he got up from his own seat. "Haley and I…we really aren't on the best of terms right now. Home is probably one of the last places I want to be. Could you bring me to my mom's instead? Hopefully she's still talking to me."

"Sure Nathan. Let's get going."

Nathan and Brooke started to head for the door, but not before Nate took one last look back at Peyton. "Come back to us soon Peyton. We're all lost without you."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_The next morning…_

"Luke…honey wake up."

Lucas stirred a bit before opening his eyes and sitting up. "Mom…how long have you been here? What time is it?"

"It's a little after 9. I let myself in. I tried calling first, but you didn't answer."

"I'm sorry." Lucas said apologetically. "I must have slept through the rings. I wonder if the hospital has tried to call too. I need to get over there."

Lucas reached for the cordless phone on his night stand to check the caller id, but Karen spoke up. "I already checked Luke. No one called."

Lucas sighed. "Alright, well I need to get up. I can't believe I slept in so late. Is Lizzie awake yet? I need to check her---"

"That's partly why I came in to wake you up." Karen said interrupting. "I tried to check her blood sugar for you, but she wouldn't let me. She always fussed a bit, but now she refuses to let me touch her. I thought she was starting to adjust to having diabetes."

Lucas sighed again. "Yeah well it's only been a little over two months. And with Peyton being away at the hospital, in a coma…her refusing doesn't really surprise me. She really needs her insulin though…let me get up."

Karen exited his room, while Lucas hopped out of bed, quickly got dressed and headed down the hall toward Elizabeth's room. He slowly pushed her cracked door open and entered into the room.

"Hey munchkin."

Elizabeth, who had been busy feeding her fish, turned around. "Hi Daddy."

"You feeding Henry?" Lucas asked his daughter as he took a seat on the edge of her bed.

Elizabeth replied back quietly. "Yeah."

Lucas slowly nodded his head. "Lizzie, can you come over here for a second?"

Elizabeth put down the fish food and walked across the room and over to Lucas. Luke scooped Lizzie up and sat her down on his lap. "Grandma told me that you wouldn't let her check your sugar."

"I don't like being pricked. And I hate the shots. They hurt."

Lucas sighed. "I know you don't like it Lizzie, but we've talked about this. It's important that your sugar is checked and that you get your insulin so you stay healthy and don't get sick. Will you please let me check you?"

Elizabeth vehemently shook her head. "No."

Lucas sighed once more. "Lizzie, you have to let me check you. I'll be quick, I promise."

Elizabeth stared off into space and sat quietly for a few moments before finally giving in. "Okay."

Lucas called out to Karen, who had been waiting outside Elizabeth's room. She came in and handed the diabetic kit over to her son. Lucas opened it up and took out the glucose monitor.

Elizabeth shut her eyes and stuck her right hand out. Lucas gently took her hand into his and pricked her index finger. Elizabeth winced, but only slightly. Luke tested her blood on the test strip and examined it. He then picked Elizabeth up from off his lap and sat her down next to him. Lucas then took out an insulin vial and syringe from the kit, measured out an appropriate dosage, got up from off the bed and crouched down in front of his daughter. Luke then lifted up Elizabeth's shirt. She shut her eyes again as Luke pinched her skin, inserted the needle into her stomach and injected the insulin. Lucas quickly removed the needle and then placed the syringe and all of the other materials back into the kit.

"Mom, can you put this away for me?" Lucas asked.

Karen nodded and took the kit from her son, exited the room and headed downstairs.

Lucas directed his attention back toward Elizabeth. "Alright, we're all done now. I told you I'm fast."

Elizabeth didn't say anything. She just sat quietly on the bed with tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Oh Lizzie." Lucas picked her up from off the bed and carried her over to the rocking chair that lied on the other side of the room. He took a seat, placed Elizabeth on his lap and gently rocked with her back and forth.

"Daddy, why do I have to have diabetes?" Elizabeth cried out and buried her face in Lucas's chest. "Why did my Mommy have to get in a car accident? Is it because I'm bad? Does God not like me anymore?"

Elizabeth's words caused Lucas's heart to crumble into a million little pieces. He tried to find the right words to say in order to soothe his young daughter.

"Lizzie, you are not bad. You could never be bad. And God…He loves you. I love you."

"But it's not fair!"

"I know Lizzie, it's not fair." Lucas told his daughter as he stroked her hair. "But you know what? You are by far the bravest little girl I know and I think that's why God gave you your diabetes. He picked you out special, because he knows you are so brave and that you could handle it better than a lot of other little boys and girls."

Lucas paused for a moment before continuing. "And do you know where you get your bravery from?"

Elizabeth shook her head no.

"You get your bravery from your mother. Mommy's brave and strong and she is fighting so hard to get back to us. And she will come back to us Lizzie. Because she's so brave and because she's such a fighter."

Lucas took his thumb and wiped away the tears from Elizabeth's cheeks. "You gonna be okay munchkin?"

Elizabeth sniffed and nodded her head yes.

The two sat together quietly for a few minutes before Elizabeth asked Luke "Are you going to the hospital today to see Mommy?"

"Yes, would you like to come with me?" Lucas asked.

Elizabeth contemplated and Lucas, noticing her reservations, interrupted her thoughts. "Lizzie, you don't have to come with me today if you don't want to. Mommy would understand."

"I don't want to."

"Ok then."

"But I have something for Mommy." Elizabeth hopped off of Lucas's lap, grabbed the stuffed alligator from off her bed and headed back over to her father. "Can you give this to her?"

"You want me to give her Allie? Are you sure you're not gonna need your alligator when you go to bed tonight?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes. She needs Allie more than me. Will you give her to Mommy?"

Lucas gave his daughter a small smile. "I sure will munchkin." He sat up from the chair and took the stuffed alligator from his daughter. He then picked Elizabeth up with his free arm and sat her back down on her bed.

"Are you hungry? Would you like me to bring you something to eat for breakfast?"

Elizabeth nodded her head.

Lucas bent down and kissed her forehead. "Ok, I will be right back."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Lucas headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he was met by Karen and Brooke, who had arrived just a few minutes earlier.

"I cut up some apple slices for you to take to Lizzie." Karen told her son and passed him the plate of fruit. "How is she?"

"As well as can be expected I suppose. Lucas said as he set Elizabeth's stuffed alligator down on a nearby kitchen chair. "But it's all just so hard for her…it's been a couple of months, but she still hates having to get shots and being tested all the time. And with Peyton being in the hospital…she's going through so much and I hate the fact that there's nothing I can really do to make everything all better for her."

Brooke just sadly shook her head. "I wish there was something we could do for her." She pondered for a few moments before speaking again. "I know, how about if I whip her up some of those brownies she likes so much."

"You mean the ones from the diabetic cookbook?" Lucas asked.

Brooke nodded. "Yeah. I'm by no means a baker or anything, but I'm sure with Karen's help, they'll turn out great. And I know brownies aren't going to solve anything, but—"

"No, I think that would be a good idea." Lucas said interrupting. "They might make her feel a little better."

Brooke nodded her head in agreement. "Ok, now we need to figure out what ingredients we need. I need to see the recipe. Where do you keep that cookbook Luke?"

Lucas set the plate down on the kitchen counter and started to head for the cupboard before making a sudden realization.

Lucas shook his head and sighed. "It's not here. Haley had wanted to check out a cookie recipe. I lent it to her last week and I never got it back from her."

"Okay…not a problem." Brooke said as she dug through her purse in search of her keys. "I'll pick it up from her and I'll be back in a little while."

"Thanks Brooke."

Brooke gave Lucas and Karen a small smile before leaving the kitchen and heading out the front door.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haley was busy moving about in her kitchen when she heard a knock on the door.

"I'm coming!" she called out, as she exited the kitchen and headed toward the front door. When she opened it, she was very surprised to see that it was Brooke.

"Brooke…hey. Come in."

Brooke gave Haley a half-hearted smile as she walked in.

"So what brings you by?" Haley asked as she started to walk back toward the kitchen, motioning for Brooke to follow her.

"Well" said Brooke as she followed Haley toward the kitchen "I stopped over to get Peyton's diabetic cookbook so Karen and I could make some brownies for Lizzie---"

Brooke stopped speaking once she entered the kitchen and looked around. She saw the cookbook laying out on the counter and a bowl of brownie batter. "But it looks like you've beat me to the punch."

Haley nodded. "I know that Lizzie loves brownies, so I thought that I would make her some. I was actually going to call you later when I had finished to see if you could drop them off for me, since I'm sure that Luke still hates me and doesn't want me anywhere near him or Lizzie."

Brooke sighed as she set her handbag down on a near by counter. "Haley, Lucas doesn't hate you. He might not be all that happy with you at the moment, but he doesn't hate you. He could never hate you."

"I hope you're right."

The two stood together for a moment in silence before Haley asked "So…will you stay and help me finish up these brownies?"

Brooke nodded, as she rolled up her sleeves and headed toward the sink to wash her hands. "So…I've spoken with Nathan."

"Yeah." Haley said as she went back to stirring the bowl of brownie mix.

"I know that this whole situation is putting a strain on your relationship."

Haley sighed. "A strain…that's a nice way of putting it. I'd say that it's pretty much fractured it. I just…I'm just so confused. I don't know what to think or believe anymore."

Haley momentarily paused before continuing. "What do you think Brooke? Do you think Nathan's lying or that this could all be just one big misunderstanding?"

Brooke walked over to Haley and looked into her eyes. "It doesn't really matter what I think Haley. All that matters is what you think. What do you hear your heart telling you?"

Haley shook her head. "You can't always trust everything your heart tells you Brooke. It can sometimes blind you from seeing the truth."

Brooke nodded her head up and down. "Perhaps. But over the years I've come to discover that though the heart isn't full proof, you shouldn't always question what it tells you. Because when one finds his or herself in the most difficult and painful of circumstances, if they choose to take the time to really, really listen to their heart…it will never, never lead them astray."

Brooke walked over to the other side of kitchen to grab a towel, while Haley slowly continued to stir the batter.

"Maybe you're right Brooke." Haley quietly muttered to herself. "Maybe you're right."

**Hey guys! Well I hoped you all liked this chapter! Oh, and I hope my medical stuff isn't too far off. I try really hard to be as realistic as possible. I'm pretty good with the law stuff, as I'm a history major and former member of my university's pre-law association. The medical stuff…I'm not all that knowledgeable on, but I'm trying my best. Anyways, like I said before, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again to those that review…I love reading them and appreciate the feedback. The more I get, the more encouraged I get and the faster I put up the next chapter!**

**So…it appears as though Nathan's suffering from some survivor's guilt and his confession of being responsible for the accident seemed to be based on that and a form of hindsight bias because he's still saying he didn't knowingly take anything. Hmmm…what could all of this mean? If he's not guilty, what could possibly be going on? Is someone out to get Nathan? I guess you'll have to keep on reading to find out!**

**Ok so anyways, here are some previews to tide you all over until next time…**

**Dan's revelation about Peyton leaves Lucas shocked**

**Peyton flashbacks**

**Nathan plays Sherlock Holmes and comes to a sudden realization**

**Julian comes back to Tree Hill and Brooke's not too happy to see him**

**Something causes Peyton's eyes to flutter. Will this slight trigger help Lucas figure out what Peyton needs to wake up?**


	6. Dirty Little Secret

**Dirty Little Secret**

"They smell so good." Brooke said as she sniffed the air.

Haley walked over to the oven door, opened it up and took a peek inside. "I think they're ready. I'm gonna take them out."

Haley grabbed an oven mitt from off the counter and proceeded to take the brownies out of the oven. She then placed the tray on the stove top. "Let's give them a few minutes to cool before we cut them."

Brooke nodded and the two headed over to the sink and began washing the batter bowl and other kitchen utensils together in silence.

Once the girls finished washing, Haley grabbed a knife from the dish rack and headed back over to the stove and began cutting into the brownies while Brooke walked back over to the table and took a seat.

"Ok, so lets do a taste test." Haley said as she placed one of the brownies onto a plate. She walked over to the table and sat down in a chair next to Brooke. She then divided the brownie into two small pieces and handed one to Brooke.

Brooke took a small bite. "They're good."

Haley ate a small bit of her portion and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. I think Peyton makes them better though."

Brooke shook her head. "You're a great baker Haley. Give yourself some more credit. Lizzie will definitely like these."

"I think she would just like her mother would wake up." Haley said as she got up from her chair. She then headed toward the cupboard, grabbed some saran wrap, walked over to the stove and began covering up the brownies.

Brooke sighed. "I think we all want that. More than anything."

The two were then suddenly startled by the sound of the front door opening. Within moments Nathan appeared in the kitchen.

Nathan and Haley just stood quietly, staring into each other's eyes. Brooke looked over at Haley, and then at Nathan and could sense the extremely awkward tension between the two.

"Ok, so I'm going to go." Brooke said as she got up from her seat and grabbed the pan of brownies from over the stove. She then walked back over to Haley.

_"Please."_ Brooke said whispering into Haley's ear. _"Please think about what I said, alright?"_

Brooke then gave Nathan an encouraging smile before leaving the kitchen and exiting the house.

"I just stopped by to get some clothes. I'm gonna go stay with my mom for a little while."

Haley nodded. "Yeah, that's probably for the best."

Nathan left the kitchen and headed upstairs to his bedroom to pack up some clothes. Just as he was finishing up, Haley entered.

"Do you need any help?"

He shook his head as he placed one last shirt in his duffel bag and zipped it up. "No, I'm done."

Nathan threw the duffle bag over his shoulder. "Alright, well I better get going. My mom's outside waiting for me in the car."

Just as he started to head out the bedroom, Haley stopped him by placing her hand on his shoulder. "Nathan, wait a minute."

Nathan placed the duffel bag on the floor and turned back around to face Haley.

Haley took a minute to wipe away the tear that had fallen on her cheek before speaking. "I love you. I love you so much and because I love you my heart is telling me to trust you; to believe in you…and I—I really want to do that. The last thing I want do is to give up on you and our relationship. But Nathan, this situation it's so big and I…I…"

Nathan shook his head and cut his wife off. "Look Haley, I don't want you to stand by me just because I'm your husband and you love me and you think that's what you're suppose to do. I want you to support me because you truly believe, without any lingering doubts, that I'm innocent and I will do whatever it takes to prove to you that I am."

Haley just stared deeply into Nathan's eyes as he stared his into hers. Nate then grabbed his duffel bag, headed out the room and left the house.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Everything's going to be alright honey." Deb told her son, her eyes glued to the road. "Peyton will wake up and you'll beat those charges. There's not enough evidence to convict."

Nathan didn't respond. He remained silent, staring aimlessly out the passenger side's window.

Deb took a minute to glance at her son and then directed her attention back toward the road. "Nathan, talk to me. Please…say something."

Nathan sighed. "It's not enough."

"What do you mean?" Deb asked looking confused.

"It's not enough just to beat the system Mom. Not for Haley and definitely not for Lucas. I need to prove to them that I didn't knowingly take any drugs. It's the only way my life has any chance of going back to the way it was before."

Deb nodded her head in understanding.

Nathan continued to stare out the window and began thinking aloud. "I need to figure this out. I need to think…"

Nathan's voice suddenly trailed off and Deb took notice. "Nathan, what's on your mind?"

He shook his head. "Nothing really…it's just…I was thinking about Dan."

"What about Dan?"

"I just don't get why he was there that night. I mean…it can't merely be a coincidence that he happened to be at the right place at the right time."

Deb pondered her son's statement before responding. "It is a bit ironic, but still plausible. I mean, Tree Hill is a small town."

"That's true I guess." Nathan said, still staring out the window.

"Besides, don't you have to go down Rosemont St. to get to Lucas's house from Tric? Rosemont is one of our town's main roads. It was late so the road was probably pretty empty, but it's not too impossible to think that Dan happened to be driving on it when you crashed."

A light bulb suddenly went off in Nathan's head. "But I didn't take Rosemont."

Nathan paused for a moment before continuing. "I specifically avoided Rosemont. I knew Peyton was tired and not feeling all that well and I wanted to get her home faster. A few weeks ago I figured out a quicker way to get to Luke's using a bunch of side and isolated roads…roads people are hardly ever on, especially at 1:00 in the morning. Haley said he found Peyton and me on Sycamore. Dan…he had no reason to be there unless…"

Deb briefly glanced over at her son before returning her eyes to the road. "Unless what?"

"Unless he's up to something." Nathan paused for a moment before continuing. "I can't let this go. Tree Hill…it's not that small of a town. I need to know what Dan was doing on that road at the exact moment I crashed my car. I need to see him…can you take me over to his place?"

Deb nodded her head as she made a u-turn and headed in the direction of Dan's house.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I don't know what's taking Brooke so long to get back." Lucas said checking the time on his cell. "But I need to go over to the hospital."

Karen nodded. "You should go. I'm sure Brooke will be here soon enough. I'll be here with Lizzie and if I have any problems—"

"You'll call me." Lucas interrupted. "No matter how small the problem may seem. Call me, ok?"

"I will." Karen promised her son.

Lucas nodded. He quickly left the kitchen and headed up to Elizabeth's room to say goodbye. He hurried back downstairs, grabbed Elizabeth's alligator, his keys and coat and headed out the front door.

A few minutes later, Lucas arrived at the hospital and made his way toward Peyton's room. He found the blonde day nurse, Valerie, fluffing a pillow on Peyton's bed.

"Has there been any change?" Lucas asked hopefully

Nurse Val just shook her head. "No, I'm sorry Lucas."

Lucas sighed and walked over to a chair next to Peyton's bedside and sat down. Val placed a hand on Luke's shoulder and gave him a small, sympathetic smile before exiting the room.

Lucas absent mindedly began playing with Elizabeth's alligator as he took a long gaze at his wife's motionless body, taking a second to wipe away the tears that had been building up in his eyes.

"This isn't fair." Lucas began, trying hard to keep his composure. "You're such a good person Peyton. It's not fair that bad things always happen to you."

No longer able to hold his tears back any longer, Lucas let them fall. "Peyton I love you. I love you so much. From the moment I first laid my eyes on you. I can't imagine my life without you in it. Me and Lizzie…we need you. We need you to wake up because without you, we're just so lost. So very lost."

Lucas stopped speaking and took a moment to rub his eyes. He then briefly glanced down at the stuffed alligator in his hands before returning his gaze back to Peyton. "Lizzie…she loves you so much Peyton. And she really misses you. She's not ready to see you just yet, but she wanted me to give you Allie. Lizzie told me that you needed her more than she did."

Lucas looked back down at Allie once more before getting up from his chair. He then placed the alligator next to Peyton's side. Luke then sat back down and silently sat staring at his wife.

Just a few moments later, Lucas noticed something odd going on with Peyton's eyes. He quickly got up from his seat and moved closer to her to get a better look and saw that Peyton's eyes were slowly flickering back and forth.

"Oh my God, Peyton!" Lucas shouted out loud. "Peyton!"

Hearing the shouts from outside of the room, Nurse Val re-entered and rushed over to Lucas's side. "Lucas, what's---"

"Val her eyes! Look, Peyton's blinking!"

Nurse Val looked astonished. "My God…I'll page Dr. Jones."

She raced out of the room and a couple of minutes later returned with Dr. Jones. Dr. Jones walked over to Peyton's bedside. "So what happened?"

"She was blinking." Lucas said excitedly. "She stopped right after Val left to go find you, but Peyton…she was definitely blinking. Does that mean she could be waking up soon?"

Before answering Lucas, Dr. Jones took a minute to examine Peyton's eyes. He held up her right eyelid and flashed his eye light into it and then proceeded to check the left eye.

"To be honest Lucas, I'm not sure."

A confused expression formed on Lucas's face. "But, she moved her eyelids. That has to mean something."

Dr. Jones sighed. "It very well might. It could be a sign that Peyton may be starting to come out of the coma. But it could also just as easily be an involuntary reflex. There's no way to tell really. I'm sorry Lucas."

Slightly disheartened, Lucas nodded his head in understanding and Dr. Jones and Nurse Val exited the room.

Lucas, still at Peyton's bedside, took her hand into his and gazed at her lovingly. "I know you're still in there Peyton. Your blinking was a sign, I just know it. I know you're trying to come back to me…but maybe you're having trouble. Is there something you need? What is it that you need to wake up Peyton?"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I'll be back in an hour." Deb shouted out to her son from the car.

Nathan nodded his head and as Deb drove away, he slowly made his way to Dan's front door and rang the bell.

Moments later, Dan opened the door and was surprised to see that it was his son standing before him. "Nathan."

"Can we talk?" Nathan asked.

Dan shook his head yes. "Of course. I was just about to start cleaning out my garage, so why don't we head in there. "

Nathan nodded and followed his father to the garage.

Dan began to rummage through a few boxes. "I heard about the DUI charge. And about Peyton. It all sounds like one big misunderstanding. I hope everything works out for you son."

"Thanks." Nathan stated simply.

"So…what brings you by here today? You finally stopping by to thank me for saving your life?" Dan asked jokingly.

"No." Nate said bluntly, deciding it would be best to just get to the point and tell Dan why he had come to see him. "I'm here to find out what you were doing out the night of the accident."

Dan looked at Nathan curiously. "Why are you asking?"

"Because. It all seems too coincidental. You being at the scene of my accident at the exact moment I crashed my car."

"Perhaps, but certainly not impossible." Dan said, raising his eyebrows.

Nathan paused briefly, before looking into his father's eyes and began speaking again. "No. No there was a reason you happened to be there. Maybe it's because you're behind the whole thing."

"You can't possibly think that I---"

"Have you forgotten that you're a convicted murderer who killed his brother?" Nathan asked interrupting. "I wouldn't put it pass you."

"Then why would I rescue you Nathan?"

Nathan slowly paced around the garage. "I don't know! I have no idea. If I'm wrong, then what have you been doing Dan? Because you and I both know that you driving by Sycamore at the time of night is a load of bullshit! You been following me around? Waiting for something bad to happen to me like my accident? Thinking it would be the perfect opportunity to play hero? Maybe hoping to get back in my good graces?"

"Son I—"

Nathan cut him off and began speaking in an evil joking manner. "Well guess what "Dad." It didn't work! I still hate you!"

Nathan then walked up to Dan and whispered into his ear. "And I will always hate you."

Dan and Nathan momentarily stood staring at each other, before Nathan shook his head and began walking out of the garage.

Dan shouted out to him. "Son, wait!"

Nathan turned back around. "What?" He asked coldly.

"I had nothing to do with your accident. I saw the whole thing…I was just too far down the road to do anything. By the time I made it up, it was too late. But there is something I was lying to you about. I said it just happened to be a fluke that I was there when you crashed, but it wasn't. I had been following you're car. But it's not for the reason you think."

Nathan nodded. "Ok then why? Why were you following me?"

Dan shook his head. "I wasn't."

"Didn't you just admit to me like two seconds ago that you were?" a confused Nathan asked rudely.

"No. I said I was following your car. Think about it Nathan."

Nathan angrily shook his head and began to ponder aloud. "If you were following my car that night, but not trying to follow me then you---"

Suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. "You were following Peyton. You've been following Peyton?" Nathan asked, looking for confirmation.

Dan nodded his head. "Yes I have."

Nathan eyed his father curiously. "But why?"

"Because she needed to be watched. She can't be trusted. There's something I've recently witnessed her do and—"

"You're lying." Nathan interrupted. "You didn't witness her do anything."

Dan nodded. "That's fine. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to."

Dan then turned around and began digging through a box, pulling out a manila folder and handed it to Nathan. "But those photos, they don't lie. The "precious" Peyton your brother thinks he knows isn't the woman he's really married to."

**I had trouble writing this chapter for some reason. I definitely don't think it's great, but it needed to be written. It's sometimes hard for me because I'm such a perfectionist. Anyways, I still hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks again to all of those who review! They mean the world to me and as I always say, keep me motivated! So…what do you guys think caused Peyton's eyes to flicker? Is it just a reflex or did something trigger it? What is she going to need to wake up? Will Lucas even be there when/if she does after he finds out her secret? I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out. Okay so here are some previews until next time…**

**Brooke helps Lucas realize what Peyton will need in order to wake up**

**Former best friends may be reuniting **

**Julian returns to Tree Hill (I promise it's coming soon!)**

**Dan shares with Lucas scandalous news about Peyton…news that will leave him shocked**


	7. Echoes From The Past

A/N: Alright well I've kind of changed my thought process a tad. Sooo my previews aren't exactly accurate, but nothing major has changed, I promise ;) - Jasmine

**Echoes From the Past**

Lucas entered his home and began shouting, "Mom! Where are you?"

He ran into the kitchen and found Brooke sitting at the table snacking on a brownie. "Brooke, is my mother here?"

She shook her head no. "You just missed her. She went to pick up some lunch."

Lucas nodded. "Is Lizzie with her?"

"No, she's upstairs taking a nap. Luke, you seem flustered. Are you ok? Is Peyton alright?"

Lucas took a seat at the table, adjacent to Brooke. "She was blinking. Peyton was blinking. And not just once or twice, but a lot. Her eyes were flickering like crazy."

Brooke's eyes opened wide in astonishment. "Luke, that's great! Does that mean she's coming around?"

"The doctor thinks it could just be a reflex, but I don't think that's it. Peyton…she's trying to wake up. I know she is. And I feel as though she's so close to doing so, but I think there's something she still needs in order to do that. Something I'm missing."

Brooke nodded her head. "Ok, well what were you doing right before her eyes started flickering?"

"Nothing, I was just sitting there." Lucas paused for a minute before continuing. "I talked to her like I have been doing. Then I gave her Lizzie's alligator and---"

"Lizzie." Brooke said quietly interrupting.

"Lizzie?" Lucas asked confused.

"It was the alligator. She was responding to her alligator. Lucas, I know you don't want to force Lizzie to go and see her mother at the hospital, but maybe you should try and encourage her a bit. I think it might be good for both of them. I really think that Peyton needs her."

Lucas nodded his head. "I think you might be right. Peyton needs to be with her daughter. I'm gonna talk to Lizzie about it when she wakes up."

Lucas got up from his seat and grabbed a brownie from the pan on the counter. "Did she like the brownies?"

Brooke nodded as Lucas took a small bite. "These are good Brooke. I didn't know you could bake like this."

"I can't." Brooke said shaking her head. "And your mom didn't make them."

Luke finished off the last little bit of his brownie and then walked back over to his chair and sat back down. "Then who did?"

"Haley."

Lucas sighed heavily. "Haley?"

"Yeah, she had the same idea I had. When I went over to her house to get the cookbook, she was already in the middle of making brownies for Lizzie. I stayed and helped a little, but you know I can't really bake. Those brownies are pretty much all Haley."

Lucas just sat quietly, staring off into the space, not saying a word.

Brooke spoke up again. "Look Lucas, I know you are still really mad at her, but Haley…she really wants to be there for you and Lizzie. And her and Nathan…well they're pretty much on the outs right now and she just feels so bad and so torn about this situation."

Lucas sighed again and nodded his head in understanding. "I know she does. I know."

Brooke was about to say something, when the two were suddenly interrupted by Elizabeth, who had woken up and came downstairs.

Elizabeth walked over to her father. "Hi Daddy."

"Hey Lizzie." Lucas said as he picked up his daughter and sat her down on his lap. "I thought you were upstairs taking your nap."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm not tired. Could you read me a story instead?"

Lucas smiled softly. "I sure can munchkin."

Brooke smiled softly as well at the sight of Lucas and Elizabeth, when she suddenly felt her phone begin to vibrate in her pants pocket. She took it out and noticed that it was a text from Nathan:

_"I need to see you. It's important. I'm at my mom's. Stop by ASAP. – Nate."_

"I wonder what this is about." Brooke said to herself quietly.

"What did you say Brooke?" Lucas asked as he got up from his chair with Elizabeth protectively in his arms.

"Oh nothing, but I—I need to go." Brooke said as she walked over to Elizabeth and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll see ya later Lizzie, ok?"

"Bye Aunt Brooke."

Brooke put her hand on Lucas's shoulder. "I'll call you later Luke."

Lucas nodded as Brooke then exited the kitchen and headed for the door.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Lucas carried Elizabeth up the stairs and into her room. As soon as they entered, she hopped out of his arms and headed to her book shelf while Lucas took a seat in the rocking chair.

Elizabeth sifted through her books, before grabbing two and then running over to Lucas and climbing on his lap. "So what you got there munchkin?"

Elizabeth handed one of the books over to Lucas. "Can you read this one?"

"The Wizard of Oz?" Lucas asked. "Lizzie, I read this to you all the time. How about another one?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, I want you to read it. Please, it's my favorite!"

"I know it's your favorite. Why do you think I call you munchkin?" Lucas sighed. "I know you love it, but it's kind of long. How about we read something else?"

Elizabeth nodded as she handed another book over to Lucas.

"Aahh, Grimm's Fairy Tales. Now this is an excellent choice. Where did we leave off?" Lucas asked, smiling softly as he sifted through the book.

Elizabeth's demeanor turned extremely somber. "Sleeping Beauty. But, Mommy was supposed to read that one to me."

Lucas's own small smile faded as he stared into his daughter's eyes. "Ok, well how about I read a different one?"

Elizabeth shook her head, grabbed the book from Lucas' hands and with all her might threw it across the room. "No! I don't want you to read to me anymore!" She then hopped off Lucas's lap and ran to her bed and buried her face into her pillows.

Lucas remained in the rocking chair for a few minutes, stunned by his daughter's uncharacteristic outburst, before getting up. He walked over to Elizabeth's bed and lied down beside her.

Luke shook Elizabeth gently. "Lizzie. Lizzie."

Elizabeth didn't respond, but Lucas was persistent. "Honey, please. Look at me."

Finally Elizabeth looked up and wiggled herself over to Lucas and snuggled next to him. "I'm sorry I threw the book Daddy."

Lucas stroked Elizabeth's long, wavy blonde hair softly. "It's ok Lizzie."

"I just really miss Mommy."

"I know you do. I know." Lucas said tenderly. "And I know Mommy misses you too."

"You think so?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at Lucas.

"I know so. And because Mommy misses you so much, I think that she would really like it if you came to the hospital to see her."

"But Mommy's sleeping. She won't know that I'm there."

Lucas shook his head. "She will know you're there. And though she can't talk to you, she can still hear you. You can say whatever you want and she'll hear you."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

Lucas nodded his head. "Really."

Elizabeth sat quietly for a few moments, contemplating before speaking. "I want to go see her."

"You sure?" Lucas asked, really wanting to make sure that his daughter was certain.

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

Lucas smiled softly and he kissed Elizabeth on the forehead. "Ok, we'll go tomorrow."

Lucas and Elizabeth continued to lay down together in silence before Elizabeth sat up, jumped off her bed and walked over to where she threw the book. She picked it up, jumped back on her bed and snuggled back up next to Lucas.

"Daddy, will you read to me?"

Lucas nodded his head. "Of course I will. And I have the perfect story for you." Lucas said taking the book from Elizabeth and sifting through the pages. "One you've never heard before."

"What?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"King Grisly-Beard. It's one of my favorite Grimm's Tales and I think you'll like it a lot."

"If you like it, then I know I'll like it too."

Lucas smiled at his daughter and began to read. "A great king of a land far away in the East had a daughter who was very beautiful, but so proud, that none of the princes who came to ask for her hand in marriage were good enough for her and she only made fun of them..."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Before Brooke could even ring Deb's doorbell, Nathan opened the door and ushered her inside.

"Nathan, what's with the cryptic text message?" Brooke asked as she tossed her bag and jacket down on a near by chair. "What's going on?"

"I went to see Dan today." Nathan said as he plopped down on the couch.

Brooke walked over to the couch and took a seat next to him. "What for?"

"It didn't make any sense to me…how Dan happened to be at the right place at the right time. The whole thing seemed too coincidental to me."

Brooke looked at Nathan with concern. "You think Dan might have had something to do with your accident?"

Nathan shook his head no. "No. I did think that for a minute, but not anymore."

"So now you think it was a coincidence?"

Nathan shook his head no again. "No, it definitely wasn't. He admitted that much to me. The night of the accident, Dan was following my car."

Brooke's eyes opened wide in astonishment. "Oh my god. Why the heck was he following you?"

"I asked the same thing." Nathan said as he got up from the couch and began pacing the living room. "But then he told me that I wasn't the one he was trying to follow."

Brooke looked confused. "Ok, then who is he…" Her voice had trailed off as she suddenly came to realize who Dan was talking about. "Peyton. He was following Peyton?"

Nathan nodded his head. "Yeah."

"But why?"

"He was trying to imply that she's up to something shady…that she can't be trusted."

Brooke shook her head. "No, that's a lie. Dan…he's just trying to start drama."

Nathan half heartedly nodded his head in agreement as he walked over to a near by stand and picked up the manila envelope. "Yeah, that's what I think too, but I don't know. These photos that Dan has…they could suggest otherwise."

Brooke got up from her chair and over to Nathan. "What are they?"

Nate took the photographs from out of the manila envelope. "These photos of Peyton were taken last week in Charlotte."

Brooke took the photos and began to examine the first couple. "What was Dan trying to imply? That Peyton's having an affair? So what she's sitting down with some guy at a coffee shop. Big deal. These photos don't mean anything. She went to Charlotte last week to meet with a new artist. That's probably him."

"I figured that's what was going on too, but there's more. I don't think Dan was implying that she's sleeping around. Keep looking through them."

Brooke began to sift through the pictures. There were a couple more of Peyton and the mystery man sitting at the café, then a few more of them getting up and walking off together.

"Where are they walking off to?"

"Keep looking."

Brooke continued to sift through the photos and then suddenly came to a screeching halt. "Wait a minute, what is this? Why did Peyton and this guy walk off to this shady little alley? And it looks like she's giving him money! Is she giving him money?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah. It looks like a shit load of cash."

"And what is he handing off to her?" Brooke asked carefully examining one of the photos. "I can't make it out."

Nathan shook his head. "I couldn't tell either."

Brooke continued to examine the photos. "How in the world did Dan get these?"

"Who knows, it's Dan. If the guy can get out of prison for murder after 4 years, he can do anything."

"I can't believe these photos. I mean, what is Peyton doing in Charlotte…handing off some serious cash to this guy in some random alley? This…this whole thing is crazy!"

"Yeah." Nathan said quietly. He then paused for a few moments before speaking again. "You know Dan thinks that Peyton might have been—"

"Buying drugs?" Brooke asked interrupting.

Nathan nodded. "Yeah. But that's ridiculous. I mean, I'm sure they ran tests on her."

"Yeah, but the doctors...they jumped on you so fast. Who knows how extensive the tests they ran on her were."

Nathan just shook his head. "I know these photos look suspicious, but there's got to be a logical explanation for them…"

"I really hope there is one. For everyone's sake."

"There has to be. I mean, Peyton's never done drugs. She would never do drugs."

Brooke took her gaze off the photos and looked up at Nathan. "Actually, she has."

"What?" a shocked Nathan asked.

Brooke began to ramble. "Back during junior year of high school, way after the two of you had broken up and you were with Haley, Peyton…she was in a really bad place. It was when she was into Jake and he had fled with Jenny. She felt so alone and…she dabbled with cocaine. She struggled with the urge to do it, but I'm pretty sure she only tried it once. And as soon as Jake came back she was good again. It never was an issue ever again."

"Does Lucas know Peyton's tried coke?"

Brooke shook her head. "No, just me, Jake, and Haley."

"Haley knows?" Nathan asked surprised.

Brooke nodded her head. "She knew before I did. She found accidentally. Look Peyton was an idiot for trying coke. And she realized that. And yeah, it was a big deal, but it was such a long time ago and we all agreed to just keep the whole thing to ourselves and leave it in the past."

Brooke walked back over to the couch and Nathan joined her. "Nate, what should we do?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think Lucas needs to know about these pictures. Not now. Not with everything that is going on. Besides, there could still be a rational explanation for them and I don't plan on unjustly slandering Peyton's rep to cover my own butt. I'm not gonna jump to conclusions about her the way others have about me."

Brooke nodded in agreement. "Yeah I think that it's best we just keep this between the two of us for now. Hopefully Peyton can wake up soon and we can figure this whole thing out."

"Yeah I do too. I just really hope that her past doesn't somehow come back to bite me in the ass in the mean time."

**Ok sooo there you go! I can't believe I managed to write a chapter during finals week! I really don't think it's my best, but I hope you all liked it anyway. So what do you guys think is going on? Was Peyton caught buying drugs? Or perhaps the photos can be explained? I guess only time will tell. And is Peyton going to wake up soon? Probably...and if she does, she's going to have a lot of explaining to do, right? Hmmm....hopefully she has no health problems that would prevent her from doing so. But seriously, how likely is it that she would just wake up from a coma and be 100% a-okay? Please review with your comments/guesses. I appreciate all of them and they inspire me. Anyways, here are some previews...**

**Next time...**

**Lucas vists Haley at Peyton's music studio**

**Lucas and Elizabeth go to the hospital to see Peyton**

**Brooke comes face to face with Julian**


	8. Welcome Back

**Welcome Back**

**A/N: Ok…so I'm introducing Julian in this chapter and I need to give you guys a little background information. He and Brooke got close while he was in town trying to get An Unkindness of Ravens made. They dated for about two and a half years before Brooke broke up with him, feeling as though he lost interest in her. She was hurt, but eventually hooked back up with Chase a year later. After Brooke broke up with him, Julian left Tree Hill and went back to L.A. As for his relationship with Lucas and Peyton…well the three of them had been extremely civil to one another while Julian was dating Brooke, though definitely not the best of friends. He did however become really good friends with Nathan. Anyways…I think that's all you guys need to know. So…here's the next chapter. Enjoy! - Jasmine**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Mia has come back to town has stopped by Peyton's music studio to see Haley…_

"This new band you signed to the label really rocks." Mia told Haley as she took a seat on top of the desk. "Who are they again?"

"A is for Amy." Haley said as she closed the laptop. "And yeah they're pretty awesome."

"Oh! Are they the band with the super cute bassist that…"

"Peyton really wanted to set you up with?" Haley asked sighing. "Yeah that's them."

Mia nodded. "Has there been any change? I mean…as soon as I heard I really wanted to get back to town and go over to the hospital and see her, but I really didn't want to impede on Lucas's time with her."

Haley shook her head. "None that I know of. I haven't gone to see her though."

"Is it because of the whole Nathan thing you were telling me about on the phone the other night?" Mia asked her friend.

Haley simply shook her head up and down.

"You really think Lucas doesn't want you around?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah he made himself perfectly clear the last time we talked. He hates me."

Mia sighed and hopped off the desk. "Lucas will come around Haley. He knows how much you care about him, Peyton and their family…how good of a friend you are."

"I'm not so sure about that." Haley said as she got up from her chair at the desk and began sifting through some files in a near by file cabinet.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Haley and Mia looked over and saw Lucas, with Elizabeth in tow, entering into the office.

"I am." Mia whispered to Haley as Lucas and Lizzie made their way over to them.

"Hey Lucas…Lizzie. How are you two doing?" Mia asked sympathetically.

"We're hanging in there." Lucas said as he glanced down at his little girl. He then returned his gaze to Haley and Mia. "We are actually on our way to the hospital right now; I just wanted to stop by here real quick because I really wanted to see you Hales. Do you think we could go outside and talk for a minute?"

A surprised Haley nodded her head. "Yeah, sure."

Lucas nodded and squatted down to Elizabeth's eye level. "Can you stay here with Mia while I talk to Aunt Haley?"

Sensing Elizabeth's hesitance, Mia opened the top drawer of the desk and pulled out a couple of CD's. "We could listen to music Lizzie. Umm…we have The Cure, Journey…"

Noticing her niece's disinterest in Mia's selections, Haley walked over to the desk, began rummaging through the bottom drawer, pulled out two CD's and handed them over to Mia.

Mia glanced at the CD's and then looked at Elizabeth. "How about Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers?"

Elizabeth nodded her head. "Ok."

Mia smiled. "Alright, let's listen to some tunes." She opened up the laptop and slid the Miley Cyrus CD into the computer.

Lucas picked Elizabeth up and set her down on top of the desk. "I won't be gone long, I promise."

"Ok Daddy."

Lucas smiled softly at his daughter. He then looked up at Haley. "Ok, let's go outside."

Haley nodded as she headed back to the file cabinet to put away the files she had been looking at. She then walked over to Lucas and the two headed out of the office together.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Nice save with the CD's. I didn't know Peyton kept some of Lizzie's favorite music at the office."

Haley nodded. "Yeah well, Peyton thought it might be a good idea to have the "Lizzie drawer." She held out for the longest…hoping that Lizzie would learn to love her favorites, but last week she finally accepted the fact that there was no way Lizzie would ever pick The Cure over Miley Cyrus."

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah…well I don't think I would pick The Cure over Miley either."

Haley smiled softly, but the mood quickly turned much more serious.

"Luke, I---"

Lucas interrupted her. "Haley, I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about."

Lucas shook his head. "Yes I do. I've been hurting…hurting so much that I've been oblivious to other people's pain. I know this whole situation has been really hard on you too and instead of shutting you out like I did, I should have listened more and tried to talk out our issues. You are my best friend Haley. You deserve that and I'm sorry I didn't give it to you."

Haley sighed. "No, Luke I understand. If the shoe was on the other foot I'm not sure how I would have reacted."

Lucas paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm not all that sure where you and Nathan stand right now, but I know you know how I feel about him."

Haley nodded her head in understanding.

"Still…I never wanted my relationship with you to suffer because of him. I want us to be ok again."

Haley began to wipe away the tears that had started to well up in her eyes and went to hug Lucas. "That's all I want too."

Lucas hugged Haley tightly before eventually breaking free from the embrace. "I'm glad that we had this talk."

Haley nodded her head in agreement. "So am I." She then glanced down at her watch. "It's getting kind of late; you and Lizzie should probably get going."

"Yeah you're right. I better go in and get her."

Haley gave her friend a small smile and the two headed back into the building.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Brooke's clothing store…_

"So how did your dad's surgery go?" Brooke said as she put Chase on speaker phone and resumed her sketching. "Is he going to be alright?"

"Yeah he'll be ok. But his doctor said he needs to take it easy for a couple of weeks, so I really want to fly out to Pennsylvania and stay with him for a little. Are you ok with that?"

"Absolutely." Brooke said to Chase as she erased a mark on her sketch pad. "Go and be with father. I'll be fine."

"You're pretty amazing you know that?"

Brooke smiled. "Yeah I know."

"I love you and I will call you when my plane lands."

"Ok. I love you too. Bye." Brooke hung up the phone and continued her sketching when she was suddenly startled by a knock on her store door.

"Do people not see the closed sign on the door?" Brooke thought to herself as she continued to sketch without looking up. "Maybe if I just ignore them they'll go away."

But the individual at the door kept on knocking and an agitated Brooke slammed her pencil down on her desk in frustration and walked over to the door and swung it open.

"Sir I'm sorry, but I'm clo---"

Brooke froze as the individual turned around to face her.

"It's nice to see you again Brooke." Julian said as he walked pass Brooke and entered into her clothing store.

"Julian?! When did…how'd you…what are you doing here!?" asked an aggravated Brooke.

"I was doing some work in Raleigh and I thought I'd stop by Tree Hill and---"

"And what? Disrupt my life?!" Brooke said interrupting. "Well guess what? I don't want you Julian."

Julian shook his head and chuckled softly. "I'm not here to win you back Brooke."

Brooke rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Then what are you doing here standing in my store?"

"I've been trying to get in touch with Lucas for a couple of days now. I wanted to talk to him about his new book. I've emailed…texted…but he hasn't responded to anything. Neither has Nathan…or Peyton…I sent you a couple of emails too, but you obviously haven't been checking I see. I've stopped by Lucas's house…Nathan's…neither are home. I came here hoping to run into you and find out what's going on. Why is everyone, well except you, MIA?"

Brooke sighed. "Peyton and Nathan were in a really bad car accident."

Julian's jaw dropped in shock. "What?! Are they ok?"

"Nathan is, but Peyton…is not. She's in a coma and the doctors…they're not if she's ever going to wake up from it."

Julian shook his head in disbelief. "Oh my god. Lucas must be a wreck."

"It gets worse. Nathan…he was the one driving and the cops…they arrested him for a DUI."

"Are you serious?"

Brooke nodded her head up and down. "Yeah. But the whole thing…it seems really fishy. I think someone might have slipped him something."

"Wow." said Julian as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah." Brooke said sadly while sighing.

The two just stood together for a moment in silence before Brooke finally spoke up. "So you've wanted to talk to Lucas about umm…On the Rivercourt? I mean…I know you two don't exactly hate each other anymore, but still…are there no other author's books out there you find inspiring enough to want to make a film about other than his?"

Julian sighed. "Actually…no. Look Brooke, I---did you know my grandfather died a couple months back?"

Brooke shook her head. "No, I didn't. Julian…I'm so sorry. I knew how close you were with him."

"Yeah well you know…my dad died when I was 3…mother's in the loony bin. My grandfather…he was pretty much all I had left and now he's gone. I haven't really been the same ever since. Actually…I've been a mess. But then I picked up Lucas's book and reading about him and Keith…it reminded me of my relationship with my granddad and I just…I really really wanted to turn that story into a movie because I felt as though…"

"It'd be sort of therapeutic?" Brooke asked sympathetically.

Julian nodded. "If I have to work with Lucas again…then so it be. His book...it helps me think of all the good times I had with my grandfather and I'll do whatever it takes to keep me from spiraling and to keep those memories of him alive in my heart."

"I hope you're able to find what you're looking for Julian." a slightly taken aback Brooke said gazing into Julian's eyes. "And I really mean that."

"It means a lot to here you say that."

The two stared into each other's eyes for a long while, before Julian finally spoke up. "I should get going."

He began heading for the door, but turned around and faced Brooke once more. "I think I'm going to stick around for a little while…hopefully visit with Nathan if I can…maybe see how Lucas is doing. Maybe I could see you again before I leave?"

Brooke nodded her head. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Julian smiled at Brooke and then turned around, opened up the door and exited the store. Brooke remained at the door, staring out the glass and watching Julian as he went along his way.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You ready to see her?" Lucas asked the little girl in his arms as they stood outside of Peyton's hospital room.

Elizabeth took in a deep breath. "Yes."

"Ok, let's go in." Lucas opened the door of the room and walked in.

Nurse Val, who had been checking Peyton's vitals, turned around and walked over to Lucas and Elizabeth.

"Hey Val."

"It's good seeing you again Lucas." Val said smiling softly at the sight of Lucas and his daughter. "And you must be Elizabeth. What a pretty little girl you are."

Elizabeth, who had been staring at a seemingly lifeless Peyton, looked over at Val. "Thank you." The little girl then returned her gaze onto her mother.

"Daddy, I want to get down."

Lucas set his little girl down and Elizabeth walked over to the front of her mother's bed and stared. She then began to climb onto the bed and laid down next to Peyton.

"Lizzie I really don't think you should---"

"No Lucas, it's ok." Val said interrupting. "Let her be. I didn't see anything."

Lucas smiled softly. "Thanks."

"Anytime. Now I'll leave you two alone with Peyton." Val said as she walked over to the door and exited the room.

Lucas refocused his attention on Peyton and Elizabeth, though stood from afar as he did not want to impede on his daughter's time with her mother.

Elizabeth continued to quietly stare at Peyton. She then reached out her hand and gently began to stroke her mother's hair. "I miss you Mommy. Daddy misses you too. Please wake up." Elizabeth then took her tiny hand and placed it on top of Peyton's.

The sight of Peyton and Elizabeth just absolutely crushed Lucas's heart, but he was determined to hold himself together for his daughter's sake.

Elizabeth continued to gaze at Peyton before redirecting her attention to her father. She lifted up the hand that had been resting on top of her mother's and extended it out in Lucas's direction. "Come lay with us Daddy."

Lucas nodded and walked over to the bed and laid down beside Elizabeth. Elizabeth snuggled up closer to Peyton and once again placed her little hand on top of Peyton's left one. Lucas snuggled up closer to Elizabeth and placed his own hand over his daughter's.

Lucas and Elizabeth remained in that position for a long while before eventually drifting off to sleep.

A few minutes after Lucas and Elizabeth had fallen asleep, Peyton's eyes slowly opened up. She moaned softly and placed her right hand on her forehead. Her eyes briefly scanned the small room before she slowly turned her head to the left. Peyton looked over at Elizabeth, then Lucas, and then returned her gaze back on to Elizabeth.

Peyton whispered quietly into her daughter's ear. "Lizzie."

She then took her right hand and slowly and softly began stroking Elizabeth's cheek. Elizabeth slowly awakened. Seeing that her mother was awake, Elizabeth sat up, smiled and began shouting. "Mommy! Mommy! You're awake!"

"Daddy!" Elizabeth yelled as she began to shake her father in an attempt to wake him up. "Mommy's awake!"

Lucas opened up his eyes, quickly sat up and looked over at his wife. He moved in closer to Peyton, took his wife's hands into his and stared into her green eyes.

Peyton smiled softly. "Lucas."

"You're awake. You're finally awake."

Peyton slowly nodded her head up and down.

Lucas took in a deep breath and smiled. "Welcome back."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Okay sooo I hope you all liked this chapter! And once again, thank you to all of those who review. Please keep them coming…I greatly appreciate them. Anyways…Peyton's finally awake!! Yay!! Now that she's awake I wonder if either Brooke or Nathan will ask her about the photos. Hmmm….so does Julian + Tree Hill – Chase = trouble for Brooke? Perhaps…but maybe not in the way you think...**

**Oh and Naley fans…a reunion is in the works…I promise…stick with me. And if you guys haven't already read it, check out my newest story, She Will Be Loved.**


	9. Shh I've Got a Secret

**Shh…I've Got a Secret**

A/N: It's not a huge deal, but I just wanted to make it clear that in this fic, Haley occasionally works with Peyton and the label part time, as she's still teaches...but Peyton takes care of the majority of the work still and particularly the business side of things. Ok, I think that's it. Enjoy this chapter! - Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Haley…you're here early." Nathan said as he ushered his wife into his mom's house.

"Yeah well only like 15 minutes. I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd come on by now and pick Jamie up."

Nathan sighed and went and sat down on the couch. "My mom just took him out to get ice cream. I don't think they'll be gone all that much longer though so you're welcome to stay and wait."

Haley nodded and took a seat next to Nathan. "That's ok with me."

The two sat together for a while in silence, before they both began speaking at the exact same time.

"Haley..."

"Nathan…"

"You go first." Nathan told his wife.

Haley took in a deep breath. "Ok, well I…I…Lucas stopped by to see me today."

"Really?" asked a somewhat surprised Nathan. "What did he want?"

"To apologize. He said he felt bad about shutting me out and how he just really wanted us to get back to being friends again."

Nathan nodded and smiled softly. "Well I'm glad Hales. It's good to here that Lucas isn't taking his hatred for me out on you anymore."

"Yeah…and while I'm glad I've been able to resolve my issues with my best friend…it made me think of how desperately I want things to be better with my husband. Look Nathan, I love you…so much and a part of me desperately wanted to just believe in you because of that, but for some reason I couldn't. I thought I needed something more…some sort of evidence that proved your innocence---"

"And you deserve that." Nathan said interrupting.

Haley shook her head. "No. You see when we got married I promised to love, honor and be there for you in sickness and in health, for **better or worse…always and forever. **I shouldn't need proof. You see love and your word…it should have been enough for me to stick by you. It **is **enough. I'm sorry I couldn't see that before."

Nathan smiled, kissed Haley on the cheek and hugged her tightly. "You don't know how good it feels to hear you say that."

"You don't know how good it feels to s---owww!...what's poking me?"

Haley let go of Nathan and sat up from the couch. She noticed something sticking out from under the cushion she had been sitting on and pulled it out. She held up the manila folder and looked at Nathan.

"What is this?" Haley opened up the folder and looked at the first few pictures. "Why do you have photos of Peyton and Alex?"

Nathan sighed. "Dan gave me---hey wait a minute, you know who that guy is?"

Haley nodded her head. "Alex Hughes…he's the bass guitarist for that Charlotte area indie rock band I had told you about, A is for Amy…the one Peyton recently signed to her label."

Haley continued to look at the second photo. "When were these taken and why does Dan have them?"

Nathan shrugged. "I have no idea where or how Dan got them…but they were definitely taken last week in Charlotte."

"Peyton went to Charlotte last week?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, you didn't know? She told Brooke, I'm sure she told you too."

Haley eyed Nathan curiously. "Peyton told me she was going to Raleigh…to check out a new solo act. She never told me she was meeting with Alex or his band. That's weird…I wonder why she would lie to me about that."

Nathan sighed. "Keep looking through the rest of those photos."

Haley began sifting through a few more of the pictures before coming to a screeching halt. She held up one photo, tilted her and examined it hard. "Why did they walk off to this alley!? And it looks like their exchanging something…but I can't make out what it is."

"Yeah neither could I."

Haley sat back down on the couch and looked over at Nathan. "These photos are odd. It kinds looks like she---"

"Might be buying drugs?" Nathan asked.

Haley nodded her head.

"That's what Dan thinks. That's partly why he showed me these pictures…he thinks Peyton is shady and up to something. He thinks I may have mistakenly drank her screwdriver…a drink he believes she doused with pills."

Haley began shaking her head. "No…you and Peyton…you guys don't do drugs. This whole situation is getting ridiculous! And there's like absolutely no information to go on. It's all this he thinks, she thinks, he said, she said crap!"

"I agree. But now that this mystery guy Alex has been identified…maybe I can get some answers from him about why he had a secret, shady little meeting in Charlotte with Peyton; answers that will hopefully be able to help me disprove Peyton's involvement and let me get back to figuring out what really happened."

Haley nodded and the two sat together for a minute in silence before Nathan began speaking. "Alex…how well do you know him?"

"I know him, but apparently not as well as Peyton."

"He's never done…or sold drugs or anything, as he?" Nathan asked.

Haley sighed. "Alex…he's never done drugs…at least I don't think he ever has. But…he used to deal…meth and pain killers…years ago when he was in high school. He told me once when I asked him about some lyrics to a song he had written."

Nathan nodded his head. "I really want to talk to this guy. Do you have an address for him in Charlotte?"

"I could dig up his part-time job address…that's all I have though. He works at some pizza place out there."

Nathan nodded. "That works. I want to head out there tomorrow. You want to come?"

Haley shook her head. "I really really would, but Jamie's field trip is tomorrow. I'm chaperoning and there's no way I can get out of it. I promised to do it a month ago. But you should talk to Brooke. I'm sure she'd go with you."

"Yeah, I'm sure she would." Nathan said, though somewhat disappointedly.

Noticing her husband's disappointment, Haley leaned in and gave him a long and lingering kiss on the lips. "But I'll be at home waiting for you to return…with open arms."

Nathan smiled at his wife. "I can't wait."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"How are you feeling Peyton?" Dr. Jones asked as he flashed a tiny light into her left eye.

Peyton groaned. "Like a truck rammed into my head. It's throbbing so badly."

Dr. Jones shut off his light and placed it in his white lab jacket. "You may suffer from some pretty intense headaches for a while, but other than that, you're in a great shape."

Lucas smiled at his wife and then looked down at Elizabeth in his arms, who was grinning from ear to ear at her mother.

"Now I know your husband told you that you were in a car accident, but do you remember what happened prior to the crash? Or anything at all from the night of your sister's engagement party?"

Peyton eyed Dr. Jones strangely. "My sister's engagement party?"

Realizing Peyton wouldn't know who the doctor was talking about, Lucas spoke up. "He's talking about Brooke's party."

Peyton still seemed confused. "Brooke's engaged? When did Chase propose?"

Lucas eyed his wife curiously. "Last week…you helped him pick out the ring. You don't remember?"

Lucas looked over at Dr. Jones, who in return looked over at Nurse Val, who nodded and walked over to Lucas. "Hey Elizabeth, can you come with me for a second?"

Elizabeth vehemently shook her head. "No, I want to stay here."

"It will only be for a little bit. Dr. Jones just wants to talk to your Mommy and Daddy for a minute."

Lucas sought to reassure his daughter. "Everything's ok Lizzie. It'll only be for a few minutes."

Lucas set Elizabeth down on the ground. The little girl took a moment to look at Peyton, who smiled softly at her daughter, before taking Val's hand and exiting the room.

Once he was certain Val and Elizabeth had exited the room, Dr. Jones refocused his attention on to his patient. "Peyton…what's the last thing you remember?"

Peyton rubbed her head and began pondering briefly before Lucas interrupted her thoughts.

"You really don't remember helping Chase pick out Brooke's ring?" Lucas asked.

Peyton shook her head no. "No I don't I…wait, has Lizzie already gone to New Zealand and come back?"

Lucas nodded. "You don't remember us oversleeping and rushing her to the airport?"

"No I don't. I remember us thinking Lizzie might not be able to go to New Zealand after we caught Bandit running around with her passport in his mouth. We thought he had chewed it up, but it turned out that he had just slobbered all over it."

"Is Bandit your dog?" Dr. Jones asked.

Lucas looked over at Dr. Jones and nodded. "Yeah."

"So when did this passport incident occur?" Dr. Jones asked Lucas.

Lucas scratched and thought. "Like a month ago. Peyton you don't remember anything that's happened since then?"

Peyton pondered momentarily. "I'm trying to but I…I can't."

"But you remember everything prior to that?" Dr. Jones asked Peyton.

Peyton nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I know who I am. I'm Peyton Elizabeth Scott. Lucas is my husband…we've been married for five years. We have a daughter, Lizzie, who's four. I own a record label. I've lived here in Tree Hill for most of my life. I'm allergic to strawberries. Lucas…he has HCM. Our daughter…she has type I diabetes. Shall I continue?"

Dr. Jones looked at Lucas for confirmation of Peyton's statements and Lucas shook his head up and down. "She's right about it all."

"I have always had a great memory." Peyton said to Dr. Jones. "Well, at least I did."

"And you will again." Dr. Jones said matter-of-factly. "I'm not at all really worried about this slight amnesia you're suffering from."

"You're not?" a concerned Lucas asked Dr. Jones. "She can't recollect like a whole month of her life."

Dr. Jones nodded and turned his attention to Peyton. "True. And it's quite possible you might never remember the events that have occurred in your life during the past month. But it's only a month. Otherwise you're memory is intact. So you may end up remembering…you may not…either way, I don't believe there's anything to worry about. Alright…I'm going to leave now and let you get some rest."

"When will I be able to go home?"

"I'm not sure yet." Dr. Jones replied honestly. "But I highly doubt you will have to be here for much longer. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Dr. Jones headed for the door and exited the room.

Lucas smiled at Peyton, walked over to her bedside, bent down and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. "I am so happy you're going to be okay. You have no idea how worried everyone's been."

Peyton smiled softly at her husband. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Lucas nodded and went to go take a seat beside Peyton's bed.

"Lucas…" Peyton began, pausing as she thought of what to say. "You told me that I was in a car accident. And that it happened the night of Brooke's engagement party. But you still haven't really told me how it happened. Was I driving? Did someone hit me or did I---"

"It's really complicated Peyton." Lucas told his wife. "I promise I'll tell you about it all later. Just not now."

"Luke, I'm a big girl. I can handle the tru—"

Peyton's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the loud shouts of Brooke entering into her room, with Elizabeth by her side. "Peyton, you're awake!!"

"Yes I'm awake." Peyton said as she grabbed her head with both hands in pain. "But please don't shout. My head is killing me."

"Sorry." Brooke said as she took a seat by Lucas's side, as Elizabeth ran over to Peyton's bed, hopped in and snuggled beside her mother.

"I'm happy you're awake now Mommy."

Peyton smiled at Elizabeth and hugged her tightly. "Me too. I've missed you so much."

"So Peyton…you're really ok?" a concerned Brooke asked her friend.

Peyton took in a deep breath and redirected her attention onto Brooke. "Aside from a splitting headache and a slight gap in my memory…I'm alright."

"By slight gap you mean the accident right? You don't remember it?"

Peyton shook her head. "Not at all. But that's not the only thing. I've apparently forgotten all about the past four weeks of my life prior to ending up here!"

A confused Brooke eyed Lucas, who confirmed his wife's statements by nodding. "Wait a minute…so you don't remember my engagement party? Or the fact that Chase even proposed to me?"

"I had no idea until Lucas told me about it…which was just a few minutes before you came in here."

"Oh wow." Brooke said astonished. "So…anything that happened, like say…last week…you wouldn't remember?"

Peyton shook her head no. "I'm trying really hard to remember. Believe me. But I'm seriously drawing up blanks."

Brooke was about to say something else, when she was interrupted by Nurse Val, who had re-entered into the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's getting kind of later and my patient here…she really needs her rest."

Lucas and Brooke nodded in understanding, but Elizabeth clung to Peyton. "I don't want to leave. I want to stay with you Mommy."

Lucas walked over to Elizabeth's side. "Lizzie, I know you want to stay here with Mommy. I do too. But she really needs her rest. We can come back here tomorrow first thing in the morning."

"Ok." Elizabeth sighed and turned to Peyton and hugged her. "I love you."

"I love you too Lizzie." Peyton said, as she squeezed her daughter tightly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Once Elizabeth broke away from the embrace, Lucas bent down and kissed his wife on the cheek. "We'll see you in the morning babe."

Peyton smiled at her husband. "Bye Luke."

While Lucas lifted Elizabeth up from off the bed, Brooke hugged Peyton good-bye and the three then exited the room.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_The Naley home…_

"I'm coming!" Nathan shouted as he headed for the door and opened it. "Brooke, hey what's going on?"

"Well I had stopped by your mother's because I had wanted to talk to you and she told me that you left her house and that you and Haley have patched things up." Brooke said smiling as she walked into the house. "That's great Nate."

Nathan nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, I'm happy to be back here with Hales and Jamie."

Brooke placed her purse down on a chair and her and Nathan walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Speaking of Haley and Jamie, where are they?"

"They went to go pick up a pizza."

Brooke nodded. "OK, well anyways I came by to tell you some great news. And some not so great news."

Nathan eyed Brooke curiously.

"Peyton's awake."

Nathan's jaw dropped. "She is?! Is she ok?"

"She seems to be. They're obviously not releasing her today or anything, but I'm guessing soon."

"That's great news."

"Yeah it is." Brooke said agreeing. "But here comes the not so great part….Peyton's memory is slightly blurred."

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

"The past like 4 weeks…they've completely slipped her mind. She had no idea she was in an accident…or that she was at my engagement party. Heck, Peyton didn't even know Chase had proposed to me. And she was the one who helped him pick out my ring!"

Nathan sighed. "So that means—"

"Peyton's not gonna have any idea what the hell she's doing in those photos if we asked her about them. I doubt we'll ever be able to find out now."

"Maybe we still can."

"How so?" a curious Brooke asked.

"Haley saw the photos and she knew the guy in the pictures with Peyton. His name is Alex and he's the bassist for some new band Peyton signed to the label recently. Haley…she didn't know anything about their meeting in Charlotte. Peyton lied to her and told her she was going to Raleigh to check out a new solo act."

"Peyton wouldn't have lied to Haley about seeing this Alex guy unless---"

"They're meeting had nothing to do with music?" Nathan said interrupting. "I don't know. But maybe we could find out by talking to Alex. Haley…she gave me his work address in Charlotte. Aside from Haley of course, you're practically the only friend I've got left here in Tree Hill, and since she can't, how would you like to go out to Charlotte with me tomorrow and pay this guy a visit?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, I'll go. And maybe I'll call up Julian and see if he wants to come. He's back in town…I told him about the accident and everything and he really wants to see you and help out any way he can."

"Julian's back in town?" Nathan asked, somewhat surprised. "Yeah that'd be cool. Tell him to come along with us."

Brooke sighed. "I just hope our trip will bring about some answers."

Nathan nodded his head in agreement. "Me too."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Umm excuse me, uh Valerie?"

Nurse Val put down her charts and focused her attention on to her patient. "Yes Peyton?"

"Is it alright if I use this room phone? Can I make a non-local call?"

Nurse Val nodded. "Yes you can. Go right ahead." She smiled at Peyton and then headed for the door and exited her room.

Peyton picked up the phone on the stand beside her bed and began dialing.

"Hey Alex. It's Peyton---yeah so umm I'm not really too sure when we last talked. You see, I've sorta been passed out for a couple of days here at the hospital in Tree Hill. I was in a car accide---no, no I'm not hurt. My head is aching and my memory's a little bit hazy, but otherwise I'm go---no, no I don't have amnesia…not really---no I definitely haven't forgotten about that. Look, my memory's fine aside from the fact that I have like no recollection of what I've done in say the past 3 or 4 weeks. I remember we were supposed to meet, but did we actually ever end up---so we did meet. And you gave me the---ok. I didn't by chance tell you where I was going to hide---yeah I figured as much---no, I honestly don't have a clue where I put---yeah, I'm hoping the hospital releases me like ASAP so I can look around the house and see if I can find the---I know, I know I need to figure this all out before Lucas accidentally finds it first…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**OK…so** **Peyton has a little memory loss. But apparently whatever secret she's been keeping, she's been keeping it for a while, because she hasn't forgotten about it. It looks like she's definitely hiding something…a tangible something…from Lucas and everyone else, but what exactly? Whatever it is, she's desperately trying to find it before he does accidentally. Do you think she might be hiding drugs? I mean, she's obviously been keeping in close contact with this Alex guy, a former dealer. Will Nathan and Brooke seek the answers their looking for in ****Charlotte? Or will Alex continue to keep Peyton's secret just that…a secret? I guess only time will tell. Thanks for reading and reviewing, I truly appreciate it! - Jasmine**

**Next time…**

**Lucas tells Peyton about the accident**

**An unexplainable occurrence leaves Julian worried **

**Nathan and Brooke head to Charlotte **

**Peyton is adamant about being released**


	10. Faith

**Faith**

"Julian!" Brooke yelled out as she banged on his hotel door. "Wake up!"

Brooke crossed her arms and began to tap her foot, waiting impatiently for Julian to come to the door.

"You tell me you're gonna come and then you don't answer the door or your phone?!" Brooke said to herself aloud. "Whatever, I don't have time for this." She headed down the stairs, exited the hotel and headed out toward the parking lot. As she headed over to her car, Brooke suddenly stopped and looked across the street.

"Is that Julian's car?"

Brooke walked out of the lot and headed across the street toward the car. Brooke poked her head into the window and saw Julian, passed out in the back seat. She gently knocked on the car window.

Julian stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He first looked around in confusion before noticing Brooke outside the car. He opened up the door.

"Julian what are you doing sleeping in your car? Are you hung-over? Since when did you start drinking?"

An exhausted looking Julian scratched his head and eyed Brooke in confusion. "I haven't. You know I don't drink."

"So why do you reek of alcohol?" a skeptical Brooke asked.

Julian sniffed his shirt and looked around in a daze. "I don't know. This doesn't make any sense."

Brooke sighed. "Look Julian you don't have to lie to me---"

"But I'm not!" Julian shouted at Brooke. "I know I smell like liquor and I feel like complete crap, but I wasn't drinking. I don't drink, I…" Julian's voice trailed off.

"You what?"

"I…I…look Brooke, you and Nathan...you guys just go out to Charlotte without me. There's umm…something I need to do."

Brooke looked at Julian curiously. "Is everything ok?"

Julian feigned a smile. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Now go ahead."

Brooke nodded, closed the car door and headed off across the street toward her own car. Julian watched Brooke for a couple of moments and then hopped into the driver's seat of his car. He pulled the keys out of his pocket and put them in the ignition.

"This can't be happening. Not to me. It can't…it won't."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Peyton turned over to her side and faced her husband. "Lucas…I want to know what happened."

"Are you sure you want to know about this right now?" Lucas asked he scooted closer over to his wife in the bed and ran his fingers through her curly locks.

Peyton nodded. "Yea, I want to know."

Lucas sighed. "Ok then." He took in a deep breath and began the story. "We were out at Tric…celebrating Brooke and Chase's engagement. Me, you, Haley, Nathan, Skills, Mouth…all of us. Everyone was having a blast. It was a great night."

"So what happened next?" Peyton asked as she readjusted herself.

"Well…we had gotten a ride to the club with Nathan and Haley and Nathan…he had offered to be the designated driver. Later on in the night, you had gotten really tired so Nathan offered to drive you home early. About a half and hour later…Dan called Haley from your cell phone…telling us about the accident. Apparently he was out driving and witnessed the whole thing and called for an ambulance. Dan he…sort of saved your life."

Peyton's eyes widened. "Dan came to my rescue?"

Lucas nodded his head.

"Wow. I can't…hey wait a minute. You said Nathan was the one driving me home. He was the one who crashed the car?! Is here in the hospital too? Is he okay?!"

"Peyton, relax. Nathan is fine. He's been released and I'm guessing he's home now. I couldn't tell you."

Peyton eyed her husband curiously. "You haven't talked to him?"

Lucas simply shook his head. "No, nor do I plan to."

"Luke, what's going on?" a concerned Peyton asked her husband.

Lucas sighed. "Nathan…he OD'd at the wheel. That's how he crashed the car. He's the reason you were lying in a coma. Nathan's the reason you almost died."

Peyton's mouth opened wide in shock. "You're joking right?"

Lucas shook his head no.

"Luke, Nathan would never---"

"I'm telling you the truth." Lucas said interrupting. "His doctor found an excess amount of some sort of prescription medicine in his system."

Peyton just shook her head. "I don't believe that. There has to be some kind of mistake."

Lucas was about to respond when Dr. Jones entered into the room.

"Peyton, you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes." Peyton said straightening up a bit and focusing her attention on to Dr. Jones. "I wanted to know if I could be released today."

"Peyt, are you forgetting that you just woke up from a coma, YESTERDAY?" a dumbfounded Lucas asked his wife.

"I realize that Lucas." Peyton said turning her attention toward her husband. "But there's nothing wrong with me. I don't want to be here. I want to be home…with you and Lizzie."

"She can't possibly be ready to go home, can she?" Lucas asked Dr. Jones.

"Actually…" Dr. Jones began, taking a moment to adjust his glasses. "Peyton, you are free to go if you want to. You do seem to be in good shape and though I would like to keep you here for a couple of more days...for observation…you are allowed to be discharged. It would however be against medical advice if you choose to do so, but the decision is up to you."

Peyton nodded. "I want to go home."

Lucas looked over at his wife. Peyton! You just woke up from a coma. You're suffering from memory loss AND you're having really bad headaches. You need to stay."

"Ok Lucas, my memory loss…it's not a big deal. I might not be able to remember what happened the last three weeks or so before the accident, but that's all. Otherwise, everything's intact. And the headaches…they're not serious and will go away in time. All they've given me for them is Tylenol anyways…which I can take myself at home."

"There's nothing I can say to change your mind is there?"

Peyton shook her head. "Nope."

Lucas sighed and threw up his hands. "Alright then."

Dr. Jones took a minute to clear his throat before speaking. "Ok Peyton, I'm going to have someone bring you some forms to fill out, including the discharge of patient against medical advice form. Once you fill those out and go through the check out process, you'll be free to go."

Peyton sighed in relief. "Great. I can't wait to get out of here. There's no place like home."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Charlotte, NC…_

"I still can't believe I found Julian sloshed like that." Brooke said as she made a left hand turn. "He never drinks."

"Yeah well didn't his grandfather die not too long ago?" Nathan asked, staring aimlessly out of the window. "When people are depressed they do things they normally would never do."

"Yeah, but it's not just the fact that he had been drinking. He was in like total denial about it. He was acting so weird and he was really out of it…and lost. And then hurried me away and rushed off. I don't know what's going on with him."

"I'm sure he's fine." Nathan said, taking a moment to look down at the piece of paper in his hand. "Brooke, I think that's the pizza restaurant over there."

"That it is." Brooke said as she pulled into the parking lot of Angelo's pizzeria.

Nathan and Brooke hopped out of the car and entered into the pizzeria. The two scanned the restaurant in search of Alex.

"I don't see him." Brooke said as she continued to look around. "Maybe he's not working today."

"No, he has to be here. Haley says he doesn't have a lot of money and that he's usually always working."

"But isn't he a musician? He should have money."

Nathan shook his head. "Peyton recently signed his band. They haven't released anything yet. They're still recording an LP."

The duo continued to look around before a young man finally tapped Brooke on the shoulder. "Do you two need to be seated?"

Brooke turned around and came face to face with Alex. She feigned a cheesy smile. "Yes."

Alex smiled softly. "Alright then, follow me please."

Alex led Nathan and Brooke to a booth and handed them two menus. They sat down and Alex pulled out his notepad.

"So what can I get for you two today?"

Nathan and Brooke half-heartedly sifted through the menus before Nathan finally put his down and looked up at Alex. "We'll take a medium pizza."

"Ok." Alex said writing on his pad. "And what kind of toppings would you like on it?"

Brooke placed her menu on the table. "Pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, pineapple..."

"You want the works?" Alex asked interrupting.

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, but do you think you could hold the meth?"

Alex stared into Brooke's eyes, and then glanced over at Nathan's. "Ok, what's this about?"

"We want to talk to you about Peyton." Nathan said getting straight to the point. "And we're not leaving Charlotte until we do."

Alex sighed and then shouted out to a near by co-worker. "Hey Zack, I need to take my break now. Can you cover my tables for me?"

Zack nodded and then Alex redirected his attention back to Nathan and Brooke. "Let's head over to that coffee shop across the street. It's pretty dead during the afternoons, so we'll be able to talk to peace."

Nathan and Brooke nodded and the three exited Angelo's and headed toward the café.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I heard about the accident. How is she doing?"

"She's recuperating." Brooke responded. "It looks like she's going to be alright. But Nathan and I aren't here to talk about Peyton's accident."

"Ok." said Alex, taking a minute to sip his coffee. "What is this about then?"

"You tell us." Nathan said whipping out the photos and placing them on the table.

Alex put down his cup and began sifting through them. "Who took these? Where did you get them?"

Brooke shook her head. "Don't worry about it. That's not important. Tell us what the two of you are doing in the photos."

Alex sighed. "Well what is it that you think we're doing?"

Nathan started getting agitated. "Ok, let's cut the crap. Haley told me you used to deal meth. We're you selling to Peyton?"

Alex eyed Nathan and Brooke curiously. "How…how do you know Haley? Who are you two anyways?"

"Haley's my wife and Peyton's my sister-in-law."

"I'm Brooke." Brooke said chiming in. "Peyton's my best friend. Ok, so now that we've gotten the introductions out of the way, tell us…were you selling drugs to Peyton?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "You two are assuming that I was selling drugs to Peyton all because Haley told you I used to deal back in high school?"

"Well that's not the only reason." Nathan said pointing at the photos. "You can seriously look me in the eye and tell me you don't deal?"

Alex sighed. "Look, I did. Back when I was in high school. That doesn't mean I still do."

"It doesn't mean you don't." Brooke shot back.

"I was a pretty messed up kid back then." Alex said while he played with his coffee lid. "But the person I was in high school isn't who I am now. I mean, come on. Can you guys honestly tell me that you two, right now, are the same people you were when you were 15?"

Nathan and Brooke briefly glanced at each other, before Nathan redirected his attention back to Alex. "Ok, so if you're not giving drugs to Peyton in this photo, then what are you giving her?"

Alex shook his head. "I can't tell you."

"If it's not drugs then why can't you just tell us?" Brooke asked glaring into his eyes.

"Because it's between Peyton and I. Look it's not all that serious. If she wanted the two of you to know, you would know."

Nathan shook his head. "If it's not that serious, she would have told us."

"She definitely would've told me." Brooke piped in.

Alex took a sip of his drink. "It's obvious that the two of you don't believe a word that's coming out of my mouth---"

"And why should we trust you?" Nathan asked.

"You have no reason to." Alex responded. "But how long have the two of you known Peyton? You guys should have a little bit more faith in your friend."

Nathan was about to respond when the café's owner, Mr. Montague, came over to their table. "Would you like me to put that on your father's tab Mr. Hughes?"

Alex shook his head and whipped out his wallet. "No, I'll pay cash." He handed him the money.

"I've already thanked your father in person for his INCREDIBLY generous gift to the museum, but could you please, please tell him again for me? It's because of his million dollar donation that our state will have one of the finest historical libraries in the south!"

Brooke eyed Nathan curiously, but the two remained quiet.

Alex smiled softly and nodded. "I sure will. Have a good day Mr. Montague."

"And you do the same." Mr. Montague said smiling as he hurried off.

Alex redirected his attention back to Nathan and Brooke. "Alright I've said all I've needed to say. You two can take it or leave it. Either way, this conversation is done. I need to head back to work."

Alex then got up from his chair and headed across the street toward Angelo's.

Nathan sighed. "So what do you think?"

Brooke shook her head. "I don't know. Everything about him is just…weird. It's obvious from that little conversation he had with the owner that his father is as rich as Daddy Warbucks, yet Alex is broke and works in a pizza shop. That doesn't make sense. He has to be lying about being poor."

Nathan nodded. "And if he's lying about that, who knows what else he might be lying about."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Once inside the pizzeria, Alex whipped out his cell. "Hey Peyton, it's me. Ok listen, you're brother-in-law Nathan and friend Brooke came by to see me today. They have photos of us from the day I gave you the---no, no I didn't say anything to them, but I just wanted to call and let you know that their snooping---yeah, you better find the---yeah, because I don't think they're going to lay off---I don't Peyton…if I were you, I would at least tell them…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Ok, thanks for giving me the heads up Alex. I'm home now so I'm going to start looking today---ok, I'll talk to you later, bye."

Peyton hung up the phone just as Lucas entered into the living room. "You going to pick up Lizzie now?" She asked.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

"Why don't you go ahead without me. Lizzie's not expecting me, so it will be a nice to surprise for her to come home, open the door and see me waiting for her."

"Peyton, you sure? I don't want to leave you here by yourself."

Peyton shook her head. "I'll be fine. Go ahead."

Lucas sighed. "Ok, I'll be back in like 20. If you need me, CALL ME, ok?"

Peyton nodded. "I will."

Lucas nodded and then headed out the door and hopped into his car.

Peyton hurried to the window, and watched as Lucas drove off. Once he was out of sight, Peyton ran outside and headed to her car. She opened the door and began rummaging through the vehicle.

"It's not in here." Peyton said to herself aloud. "But if it's not in here where else would it be? I know it's not at the office…but then that means it has to be in the house. But where in the house would I hide the---"

Peyton stopped talking as she came to a sudden realization. "That's it! How come I didn't think of that before!?"

Peyton quickly got out of the car and ran back into the house.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Okay…So I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! There's so much going on…Lucas told Peyton about Nathan overdosing and being responsible for the accident. She doesn't seem to really believe that Nathan would take drugs and then get behind the wheel. Why is she so sure? And why was she in such a hurry to get released? Did she really just want to get home so she could be with Lucas and Elizabeth or is there another reason? And what do you all think of Alex? Is he shady or perhaps just being a good friend to Peyton? And what's going on with Julian? I don't have any previews for you guys, but I do have some advice. There's significance in just about everything I've written. Little things that don't really seem all that important to the plot are in actuality, very important. Like say…Elizabeth's diabetes, Alex's rich father, the bracelet Brooke put on Peyton's wrist while she was in the coma, and lots of other things should not be forgotten because they're all part of the main picture. Anyways, that's all I'm going to say. Please review…I greatly appreciate them!**


	11. Don't Believe the Hype

**Don't Believe the Hype**

A/N: Ok…so yeah, I really don't know how much I like this chapter, but…here it is anyways. – Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Mommy!" Elizabeth screamed out as she ran over to Peyton and engulfed her in a big huge hug. "You're home!"

"Lizzie..." Lucas said as he closed the front door. "Don't yell. Your mom's head still hurts."

Elizabeth looked over at her father. "Sorry."

"No, it's ok." Peyton said as she held her daughter closely. "Because I am just so happy to see you. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." Elizabeth said as she began playing with Peyton's hair.

Peyton smiled as she slowly cradled her daughter in her arms.

"Mommy…"

"Yes?"

"Do you think that we could do something fun together? Just you and me?"

Peyton nodded her head. "Of course we can. What do you want to do?"

Elizabeth pondered momentarily before deciding on an activity. "Can we paint?"

"I think that's a great idea." Peyton said smiling. "Why don't you go and get everything set up in the family room."

"Ok." Elizabeth said grinning and hurrying off.

Lucas chuckled as he walked over to Peyton and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "It's good seeing Lizzie back to her cheery self. She had been so sad…and broody. And being sad and broody is totally not her."

"No it definitely isn't."

"So um Peyton…what were you looking for in your car?" Lucas asked, changing the subject.

"W--why do you think that I was looking for something?" asked a slightly taken aback Peyton.

"Because it looks like a tornado hit it."

Peyton began stuttering out words. "Oh…well I—I was umm…"

Just then, Elizabeth ran back into the room. "It's all set. Let's get started." She then took Peyton by the hand and began dragging her mother toward the family room.

Lucas stayed behind, but eyed Peyton curiously as she and Elizabeth headed out of the room together.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_That night…_

"Is she asleep?" Lucas asked his wife.

"Yes." Peyton said as she took a seat beside Lucas on the couch.

"We are so happy to have you back home." Lucas said as he put his arm around Peyton.

Peyton smiled at her husband. "I'm happy to be back too."

The two sat together for a while in silence before Peyton spoke up. "Luke, there's something I need to go and do."

"Like what?"

"I need to see Brooke."

"Right now?" Lucas asked. "It's getting late Peyton, can't you see her tomorrow?"

"I could…"

"But you really want to see her tonight."

"Yeah."

Lucas sighed. "Ok."

Peyton took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Ok…I know I shouldn't be driving and you need to stay here with Elizabeth so I'm going to take a cab to her house. I called for one about 15 minutes ago so it should be here any---"

Peyton's words were interrupted by beeping from outside.

"I guess it's here now." Peyton said getting up. She bent down and gave Lucas a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll be back soon."

Lucas nodded as Peyton grabbed her coat and purse, headed for the door and closed it behind her.

Lucas remained on the couch, lost in deep thought. "She was adamant about being released...then she was looking for something while I was getting Lizzie...and now she just has to see Brooke. Something…something's off with her…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So what do you think we should do?" Brooke asked as she sipped her tea.

Nathan shook his head as he looked down at the photos of Peyton and Alex. "I don't know. I mean…I don't think we can trust that Alex guy at all. But then again, maybe we can, who knows."

Brooke sighed. "We're not getting anywhere."

"No we aren't."

The two sat together in the kitchen in silence for a long while when they suddenly heard a knock at the door. Brooke got up from her chair and headed toward her front door. Nathan's jaw dropped when she reentered the kitchen a few moments later with Peyton by her side.

Nathan got up from his seat and walked over to his sister-in-law. "Peyton, I—I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I---"

Peyton interrupted him. "Nathan, stop. It was accident. There wasn't anything you could've done. You don't have anything to be sorry about."

Brooke and Nathan eyed Peyton curiously.

"Look, Lucas he…he told me about the accident…and how you were arrested for a DUI and I…I don't know why he's doubting you so much but I…I know you would never intentionally do drugs and get behind the wheel of a car Nathan."

Nathan glanced over at Brooke and then redirected his attention to Peyton. "But there's all of this evidence against me. How…how can you be so sure I didn't purposely take them and then accidentally overdose?"

"Because I know you and I know that isn't something you would do." Peyton said as she walked to the table, picked up the photos and examined them. "And because things aren't always what they seem to be. Kind of like these photos here."

Peyton paused for a moment before speaking again. "I know that the two of you think I'm the one with a problem. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to Charlotte to question Alex about these photos."

Brooke sighed. "So you've been talking with Alex?"

Peyton nodded. "Yeah. And I'll admit it…these photos…they do kind of look…well suspicious. And while I don't actually remember this meeting I had with him…I do know what it was about and what it is he's giving me. I can explain them and I will…on one condition."

"What?" Nathan asked inquisitively.

"That you won't tell Lucas. What I tell you guys…it has to stay between the three of us."

Brooke and Nathan looked at each other for a long while before turning their attention back to Peyton and nodding their heads.

Peyton nodded. "Ok, well…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Brooke sat down at the table shaking her head and smiling. "So that's what she's been keeping from us!"

Nathan shook his head. "And for all this time! Peyton is so sneaky…but ingenious."

"Yea she is!" Brooke said agreeing.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Peyton's cab…_

Peyton stared aimlessly out of the window of her cab and thought to herself. _"Now that I have those two off my back it's all smooth sailing from here."_

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_The next morning…_

"Lizzie, could you please put that…that thing back in its cage?" Brooke asked, pointing at the lizard.

"But Aunt Brooke, Fluffy likes you!" Elizabeth said as she stroked her lizard's head. "She wants you to hold her."

"Maybe another time." Brooke lied. "But right now, could you please just…put her away?"

"Ok." Elizabeth said sighing as she opened up the cage and placed the lizard inside. "But if we can't play with Fluffy, what are we going to do for fun?"

"Oh I don't know…" Brooke said as she walked over to her laptop. "How about we have a little dance party?"

Elizabeth vigorously nodded her head up and down. "Yes…yes…let's dance!"

Brooke smiled. "Alright. So what shall we dance to? Old school or new school?"

Elizabeth pondered briefly before responding. "Old school!"

Brooke nodded. "Ok let's see I have Cyndi Lauper, Britney, the Spice Girls, Mad---"

"Madonna!" Elizabeth yelled interrupting. "Like a Virgin!"

"Oh no." Brooke said shaking her head. "Absolutely not."

Elizabeth frowned. "Why not?"

"Because your dad is coming to pick you up soon and if he happens to come early and walks in here and hears you singing and prancing around to Like a Virgin, he's going to kill me. You don't want your daddy to kill your Aunt Brooke do you?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, but why would he? What's the song about? Is it about something bad?"

"No it's…I'll tell you when you're older." Brooke said as she directed her attention back to the computer screen.

"But that's not fair! I want to know now!" Elizabeth said pouting.

"Sorry kid, but that's life. Life's not always going to be fair. Build a bridge and get over it. Ok...I think I've found a great song. One I know you love. I just have to run in the basement first and get the props. Stay right here."

Brooke headed out of her living room and headed down the stairs to her basement. She emerged a few minutes later carry some pom-poms. She handed Elizabeth a pair and hit the play button on her computer and the room suddenly filled with the sound of Toni Basil's Mickey.

Elizabeth's eyes lit up and she began prancing about the room, shaking her pom-poms. "I love this song!"

Brooke began singing. "Oh Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind hey Mickey hey hey hey Mickey!"

Brooke grabbed Elizabeth's hands as the two danced around and sang together. "Oh Mickey, what a pity, you don't understand. You take me by the heart, when you take me by the hand. Oh Mickey, you're so pretty, can't you understand. It's guys like you Mickey. Oh what you do Mickey, do Mickey, don't break my heart Mickey!"

Brooke and Elizabeth were suddenly interrupted by a loud clapping sound coming from the front door. Brooke glanced and saw Julian standing before them.

"How did you get in here?" asked a flustered Brooke as she placed her pom-poms on the floor and turned the music off.

"I didn't mean to scare you. The door was unlocked…I tried knocking first, but you obviously didn't hear me with the music up so loud…so I just came in."

"Aunt Brooke, who's he?" Elizabeth asked, looking over at Julian.

Brooke scooped Elizabeth up into her arms and walked over to Julian. "Lizzie, this is an old friend of mine, Julian. Julian, this is Elizabeth."

"Oh no, this can't be Elizabeth!" Julian said looking at the little girl in shock. "The last time I saw you, you were just a little thing, and now you're all grown up and so very pretty. Just like your mother."

"You know my Mommy?!" Elizabeth asked excitedly. "Do you know Daddy too?!"

Julian nodded his head. "Yes I know them both. And I heard about your mother's accident. How's she doing?"

"Real good."

Julian smiled. "Well that's good to hear."

"Julian, do you want to see my lizard?" Elizabeth asked as she jumped out of Brooke's arms and ran over to Fluffy's cage.

"Peyton and Lucas let you have a lizard?" asked a surprised Julian.

"Yup." Elizabeth nodded as she picked up her lizard and handed her over to Julian. "Her name's Fluffy."

Julian held the lizard up and took a good look at it. "And how are you doing today Fluffy?"

Brooke turned her attention to Elizabeth. "Lizzie, your dad's going to be here any minute to pick you up, so why don't you put Fluffy away and get the rest of your things together."

"Ok."

Julian handed Fluffy back over to Elizabeth, who carefully placed her back in her cage and skipped out of the room.

Julian chuckled. "If she didn't look like Peyton's mini doppelganger, there's no way I ever would've guessed that cheery little girl would be her daughter."

Brooke nodded her head in agreement, but then quickly changed the subject. "So Julian…what brings you by?"

Julian sighed. "Well I was in the neighborhood and I thought I should stop by and apologize. I'm sorry for acting weird and flaky yesterday."

Brooke nodded. "It's ok, I'm not mad or anything. But I am kinda worried. I mean, is everything alright? What's going on with you?"

"Nothing I can't handle." Julian said confidently. "I promise."

Brooke was about to say something when she was suddenly interrupted by Elizabeth reentering the room.

"Alright I think I better get going." Julian said as he bent down and focused his attention on to Elizabeth. "It was nice meeting you Elizabeth."

Elizabeth smiled. "It was nice meeting you too Julian."

Julian smiled as he got up and redirected his attention to Brooke. "We'll talk soon."

Brooke nodded as Julian headed for the door and exited the house.

"I really like him." Elizabeth stated matter-of-factly. "He's really nice…AND he's cute too!"

Brooke laughed. "Aww…I think somebody has a crush."

"I do not!" Elizabeth said blushing.

"You do too!" Brooke said smiling. "And don't ever tell your dad about it."

"Why not?" asked a curious Elizabeth. "Does Daddy not like Julian?"

"Well" Brooke began, as she picked Elizabeth up and held the little girl in her arms. "Let's just say that Julian isn't your daddy's favorite person…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**I didn't really like this chapter, but whatever. Ok…so let's see…Lucas thinks Peyton's acting weird. And it looks like Peyton went and confessed her secret to Nathan and Brooke...or did she? Whatever it is she ended up telling them…it looks like Nathan and Brooke believe her. Is Peyton telling the truth or is she just an extremely good liar? Brooke seems to be worried about Julian, but he claims he's fine…is he really though? And it looks like little Elizabeth has a crush on Julian…hmmm…keep that fact in the back of your minds people! Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please read and review. This story is getting really difficult to write because there's so much stuff going on. I'll only continue if I know people are reading.**

**Things still to come…**

**A certain blonde couple will have it out**

**Haley helps Nathan and Brooke come to a startling realization**

**Elizabeth makes a very wacky declaration…but maybe it isn't as wacky as everyone thinks**


	12. Tell Me

**Tell Me**

A/N: Ok…so here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it! – Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So you and Brooke…you guys are pretty sure that Peyton's not up to anything we should be worried about?" Haley asked her husband as she began washing the dishes.

Nathan nodded. "Yup, I'm positive."

"But how can you be sure?"

Nathan took a sip of his water. "Because she told us what she was up to."

"And that's enough to convince you?" Haley asked raising an eyebrow. "What are you a lie detector test?"

"No." Nathan said as he got up from his chair. "But I do know that Peyton's not lying to me about this. There's no way that she would even try, it'd be way too foolish of her. She knows for a FACT that I would've been able to call her out on it."

"Is that so?"

"Oh yeah." Nathan replied back confidently.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Julian entered into his hotel room and threw his car keys on the near by table. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he sat down on his bed. He stared at himself in the mirror and his mind slowly began drifting to the events that had occurred earlier that morning…

_Julian stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He rubbed his head, moaned, and looked over to his right and noticed a redheaded woman lying beside him._

_He sat up in shock and nudged the woman who lied next to him. She slowly began to awaken._

_"Who the hell are you?" Julian asked the redhead. "And what are you doing in my bed?"_

_"My name's Kristin." The redhead stated as she rolled out of the bed and began dressing herself in front of Julian. "And we hooked up last night. I guess you got too sloshed to remember it."_

_Julian threw his hands up in the air and shouted. "I don't drink!"_

_"Could've fooled me boozy." Kristin chucked as she zipped up her dress. "I suppose you're not a chain smoker either."_

_"I'm not."_

_"Sure you're not." Kristin said as she directed her eyes to the ashtray full of cigarettes that lied on the nightstand beside Julian's side of the bed._

_Julian looked over at the ashtray in shock. "I…I don't know why---"_

_"Look, I could care less if you're a drunk that smokes 10 packs of Newport's a day" Kristin said interrupting. "I wasn't looking for a boyfriend last night…I just wanted to get laid. You don't have to explain anything to me Aaron." _

_Julian's eyes grew big and his jaw dropped. "What did you just call me?"_

_"Aaron." Kristin said eying Julian curiously. "That's your name, isn't it?"_

_Julian suddenly threw the covers off of him, hopped out of the bed, grabbed his boxers from a near by chair and quickly put them on. "Get out of my room."_

_"I'm almost done." Kristin said as she put on her left earring. "I'll be out in a minute."_

_Julian shook his head and walked over to Kristin. "No, I want you out NOW. Get out!"_

_Julian took Kristin by the arm, opened up his door, and shoved her out his hotel room._

_"Can I at least have my shoes?" asked an annoyed Kristin._

_Julian scanned the room and found her shoes. He picked them up, handed them to her and slammed the door in her face._

Julian sighed deeply as his thoughts returned to the present. He got up from his bed and walked over to his desk. He opened up his laptop and sat down in front of the screen.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I'm coming!" Haley called as she hurried to answer the door. She opened it and was surprised to see Lucas standing before her. "Luke…hey come on in."

Lucas nodded and entered.

"How's Peyton doing? Brooke told me that she's been released and I've been meaning to stop by I've just been so busy with Jamie and work and---"

"She's doing well." Lucas said interrupting her. "Sort of."

"How do you mean?" Haley asked worriedly.

Lucas sighed. "Is Nathan here?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah, but you don't have to worry about seeing him. He just hopped in the shower and you know that he takes ridiculously long ones. Luke, what's up?"

"Peyton…she…she seems ok physically, but I…I get this feeling that something's not right with her."

"What makes you think that?" asked a curious Haley.

Lucas shook his head. "I don't know…it's just…she's been acting weird."

"How so?"

Lucas began pacing around. "Well for starters she was desperate to get home. Her doctor really wanted her to stay for a few more days for observation, but Peyton was adamant about leaving and she went ahead and signed the discharge against medical advice form without hesitation."

"Did she give you a reason for wanting to leave?"

"She said that she just really wanted to be home with me and Lizzie."

Haley nodded. "Well that makes sense. Besides you and I both know that Peyton hates hospitals and that unless she absolutely positively had to be in one, she wouldn't go near them."

"That's true." Lucas said agreeing. "And that's what I thought too, but there are other things that make me weary of her. Yesterday when I went to pick up Lizzie from my mom's, Peyton didn't want to come. When I got back I noticed the inside of her car looked like a tornado it. I think she was looking for something and when I asked her about it she stuttered and never really answered me. And then…late last night…she just HAD to go and see Brooke. I don't get it Haley…Peyton she…she never keeps secrets from me. But it really looks like she is and…"

"And what?"

Lucas sighed. "What if this whole thing is connected to the accident somehow? I've been blaming Nathan for it this whole time and what if…what if he's the innocent one? What if Peyton's the one with a drug problem? What if over the course of that night her and Nathan somehow mixed up their screwdrivers and he ended up drinking from her drug-laced one?"

Haley was about to respond, when she was interrupted by shouts from upstairs.

"Mom!" Jamie yelled. "I need you! I cut my knee and I can't get it to stop bleeding!"

Haley sighed. "Luke, I'll be right back ok?"

Lucas nodded and Haley hurried off upstairs to help Jamie.

Lucas ran his hands through his hair and began pacing about the living room. He bumped into the coffee table and accidentally knocked over a pile of what he assumed were some of Haley's English papers. He bent down to pick them up and began restacking the pile when he came across something that caught his eye.

"Where did Haley get this photo of Peyton?" He asked himself aloud.

Luke picked up the manila folder, removed its contents, and began sifting through all of the photos. His jaw dropped and his eyes grew large in shock.

"Peyton, you better not be doing what I think you're doing." Lucas said as he quickly shoved the photos back in the folder, headed for the door and slammed it as he exited the house.

Hearing the door slam, Haley rushed down the stairs. "Lucas, what's---"

She stopped talking as she looked around the living room and noticed that Lucas was no where to be found.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Julian, are you here?" Brooke yelled from outside of his hotel room.

"Brooke is that you?"

"Yeah."

"The door's unlocked, you can come in."

Brooke opened up the door and entered. "Hey, I…"

Her voiced trailed off as she took a minute to sniff the air. "Eww…it smells like skank in here."

Julian gave her a look, but ignored her comment and continued to comb his hair in front of the mirror. "So what brings you by Brooke? Didn't I just leave you?"

Brooke placed her pursed on the desk next to Julian's laptop. "Well I…"

Brooke stopped talking as she turned her attention to Julian's laptop. "What are you looking up? What's D---"

Julian immediately reached out his hand, closed the laptop and placed it in his computer bag. "It's nothing. Just research I'm doing for a movie."

Brooke nodded her head slowly.

Julian sighed. "Brooke---"

"You never told me what was going on with you." Brooke said cutting him off. "All you said was that it was nothing you can't handle, but you never said what that was."

Julian walked over to Brooke and looked into her eyes. "I love you for caring and worrying about me, but please don't. I am fine. If I need your help with anything, you'll be the first person I call, ok?"

Brooke sighed and nodded. "Ok."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Hey Luke I'm in the kitchen!" Peyton shouted out as she heard her husband enter into the house.

"I don't hear Lizzie, didn't you pick her up?"

"She's with my mom. She's taking Lizzie and Lily out for lunch." Lucas responded coldly, as he headed toward the kitchen.

"Lucas what's wrong?"

Lucas walked into the kitchen and placed the photos on the table in front of his wife. "I don't know Peyton. Why don't you tell me?"

Peyton's mouth opened in shock. "How did you…how did you get these?"

Lucas shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Who…who the hell are you with and what the heck are you doing?! Are you buying drugs?!"

Peyton sighed. "Is that what you think?"

"If there's something else going on, then tell me!"

Peyton sat still and remained quiet.

"So you don't want to tell me?" Lucas asked angrily. "That's fine; your silence says it all!"

Lucas stormed out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs. Peyton got up from her chair at the kitchen table and followed him.

"Lucas wait…"

Peyton's voice trailed off as she watched her husband enter into Elizabeth's room with a suitcase. She followed him into their daughter's room.

"Lucas what are you doing?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing Peyton?!" Lucas asked as he began removing clothes from Elizabeth's closet and placing them in the suitcase. "I'm packing up Elizabeth's things. We're leaving!"

Peyton began shaking her head. "What---what do you mean leaving?! You can't…you can't just take her from me like that!"

Lucas momentarily stopped the packing and focused his attention on Peyton. "I can and I'm going to. I WILL NOT expose my daughter to drugs!"

"YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT I'M DOING DRUGS?!" Peyton cried out.

"UNTIL YOU GIVE ME A REASON TO THINK OTHERWISE, YES!" Lucas yelled back.

Peyton threw up her hands.

She reached for the suitcase and shoved it off the bed. She then lifted up Elizabeth's covers and picked up her daughter's mattress. She held the mattress up with her left hand and began searching for something with her right.

Lucas shook his head. "What—what could you possibly be hiding in our four-year-old daughter's bedroom?!"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**OK…so the moment you've all been waiting for is coming up in the next chapter! What is it that Peyton is hiding in Lizzie' room? I know that's what everyone's been dying to know, but keep in mind that this story isn't over yet. There's still lots more twists and turns coming. Some (I'm hoping) you're not going to see coming! And what's with Julian? Anyways…I hope you all liked this chapter! Please review with your comments…I appreciate them!**


	13. Confessions, Part I

**Confessions, Part I**

A/N: Ok...so here's the next chapter. It's all Leyton. I really hope you like it and that it's not a let down or anything. - Jasmine

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Lucas shook his head. "What-what could you possibly be hiding in our four-year-old daughter's bedroom?!"

"Oh I don't know..." Peyton said as she continued to search underneath the mattress. "Maybe something I didn't want you to find."

Lucas was about to respond, but Peyton quickly cut him off. "And just because it's something I didn't want you to find, it doesn't mean that it's bad."

The room filled with silence as Peyton continued to look.

"This is the last time I ever try and surprise you." Peyton muttered to herself as she removed an envelope from underneath the mattress and handed it over to her husband.

"What is this?" asked a curious Lucas.

"It's for you." Peyton said sighing. "It was supposed to be an early birthday gift anyway, but I guess now it's going to be an even earlier birthday gift. Open it up."

Lucas ripped open the envelope and looked inside. His angry eyes suddenly grew soft and his mouth opened wide in shock. "Peyton...are these...what I think they are?"

He removed the items from the envelope and carefully examined the contents. "You...you got me courtside seats to this years nba all-star game?!"

Peyton nodded. "And for the rookie game and all-star Saturday. There's a meet and greet pass too."

Lucas's eyes grew large and he shook his head in astonishment. "But how...how did you get these?"

Peyton walked over to Elizabeth's dresser and picked up one of the photos of her and Alex. "From him. His name's Alex Hughes...he's one of my new artists. He's giving me the tickets in these pictures."

"But how---"

"His dad..." Peyton said interrupting, "is Todd Hughes."

Peyton paused, waiting for Lucas to make the connection, but he just eyed her in confusion.

Peyton sighed. "Come on Luke, think about it. You're a big basketball fan. I know you know who Todd Hughes is."

Lucas took a seat on Elizabeth's bed and pondered briefly before a light bulb suddenly went off in his head. "He's the owner of the Bobcats!"

Peyton nodded. "I've heard you, Nathan and Skills talk about how much you would love to go and see an all-star game. So when I found out this year's all-star weekend was going to be in Charlotte...I knew I just had to get you tickets for your birthday. Alex...he overheard me on the phone in my office one day trying to get tickets and that's when he told me who his dad was. He talked to him for me and got me the tickets...and for a REALLY sweet deal. His dad also threw in the meet and greet passes for free."

Lucas looked at the tickets in awe. "Even a deal on these tickets still must have cost you a fortune Peyton."

"They definitely cost a pretty penny." Peyton answered honestly. "But we're not hurting. Business is going well; I can afford to splurge on my husband if I want to."

"But you really didn't have to."

"Yes I did." Peyton said as she took a seat beside Lucas on the bed. "Luke because you and Lizzie share the same birthday...for the past four years now everyone, myself included, have forgotten to acknowledge the fact that it's not only her day, but yours too."

Lucas shook his head. "I love that Lizzie and I have the same birthday. It doesn't bother me that I get overlooked. She's just a little girl and she's my daughter. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Peyton nodded her head. "I get that Luke. I do. But still, Lizzie's birthday is your birthday as well and it was yours first. You deserve something special too...at least sometimes."

Lucas kept shaking his head in disbelief. "I...I can't believe you got me these tickets."

He paused for a brief moment before looking at Peyton. "This...this is incredible."

Lucas got up from the bed, grabbed the remaining photos from off top of the dresser and sat back down next to Peyton. "So in these pictures you're paying that Alex kid for the tickets?"

Peyton shook her head. "No, I had already paid him. In these photos I'm giving him a small cash advancement so he can buy a new guitar. I'm not handing him off as much money as it looks like I am."

Luke looked confused. "But his dad is Todd Hughes. He has a TON of money. Why in the world would he need---"

Peyton cut Lucas off. "Alex and his dad get along great, but he's the kind of kid who is determined to make it in the music biz without his father's monetary influence and wants to be able to prove to the world that when he does make it, it was because he's a talented guy who worked hard and not because he's Todd Hughes's son. He...he would never receive a handout from his dad for ANYTHING...it's just who he is."

"And we're in an alley..." Peyton began, pausing momentarily. "Because he had spotted his slightly stalkerish and obsessive ex-girlfriend heading in our direction, toward the café. He was trying to dodge her so he led me to this passageway."

Lucas nodded his head in understanding, but then quickly came to a realization as he looked at the date of the photos. "Wait a sec...how do you remember all of this? Did Alex tell you about it all?"

"Some. Like after I woke up in the hospital I had called Alex and asked him a couple of things. Like if he had given me the tickets yet and if he knew where I had planned on hiding them. But even if he hadn't said anything to me, it wouldn't have mattered now because this morning when I woke up my memory...it came back. I was going to tell you about that when you came in, but..." Peyton let her voice trail off.

Lucas ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair. "So that's why you wanted to get home so fast? Because you couldn't remember where you hid the tickets and you wanted to get to them before I did accidentally?"

"Yeah partially." Peyton answered honestly. "I did also really just want to get home so I could be with you and Lizzie. And you know how much I can't stand being in hospitals."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah I know. So...the tickets...that's what you were looking for yesterday in your car?"

"Yes." Peyton said nodding. "And it was only after I tore it to shreds did I realize I probably hid them somewhere in Lizzie's room...as I had been thinking about hiding them in there long before I even knew if I'd be able to get you seats. I actually tore her room apart in search of the tickets before I ended up finding them underneath her mattress. I had managed to straighten it back up before the two of you got home, but I didn't get to the car in time."

Lucas shook his head. "And does this all have something to do with why you had to see Brooke last night?"

Peyton nodded. 'Yes. I had, up until yesterday anyways, kept this surprise a big secret from everyone because I really, really just wanted to keep it quiet and not have anyone slip up and say something to you accidentally. But yesterday I went to see Brooke because I HAD to tell her about all of this."

"But why?" Lucas asked curiously.

Peyton sighed. "I don't know if you know this but her and Nathan...they've been trying to clear his name. Nathan swears up and down he didn't purposely take any drugs. Brooke believes him and the two of them have been trying to figure out what happened. After I told her about everything, and Nathan because he was at her house last night, they told me how Dan somehow got a hold of these photos and gave them to Nathan. And when Haley saw them she obviously realized that the guy in the photos was Alex and she...she told them how he used to be a dealer back during his high school days. Brooke and Nathan were wondering what the heck I was up to and actually went to Charlotte, where Alex still lives, to question him. Alex didn't tell them anything, out of respect for me, but he called and told me that they were snooping around, jumping to wrong conclusions and that I should probably tell them what's going on before this whole thing blew up and they went to you about it all. And that's what I did. I told Nathan and Brooke the truth about the tickets and everything last night."

Lucas nodded, but took a moment to take everything in before responding. "So Nathan...he's trying really hard to prove his innocence, huh?"

"Yeah he is." Peyton stated simply. "And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be trying so hard if he were guilty. What would be the point of that?"

"There would be no point."

"Exactly. And I think it's safe to say that things aren't always what they seem to be and that there's more to things than what meets the eye. Like those photos...and perhaps what happened with Nathan the night of the accident. Maybe there's more to this story and Nathan is in actuality being unjustly accused. You...you should have a bit more faith in your brother. You know who he is and if he's swearing up and down that he didn't knowingly take any drugs, then you should believe him."

"Kind of like how I should have just believed in you." Lucas said staring into his wife's eyes. "Peyton, I'm sorry for jumping down your throat like that and throwing out crazy accusations. I know you and I know that you would never do drugs or anything else that could somehow end up hurting our family."

Peyton sighed. "It's ok Lucas, I understand. I mean in hindsight I guess I was acting kind of suspiciously...unlike your brother." She paused momentarily before continuing. "I really, really think you should take note of Nathan's insistence and his character and give him the benefit of the doubt. I...I was the one who ended up in a coma from the night of the accident and if I can give Nathan that benefit, you should be able to too."

Lucas remained quiet for a long while before nodding his head in agreement. "You're right Peyton. You're absolutely right."

He paused for a brief moment before continuing. "You're pretty amazing you know that? And it's not because you got me courtside seats for the NBA all-star weekend...though I'm freaking ESTATIC that you did...it's because you have this wonderfully big and forgiving heart. I...I am so incredibly lucky to be married to a woman as amazing as you."

"Oh yeah you are." Peyton said smiling seductively.

Lucas shook his head and laughed. "I love you Peyton. I love you so much."

"I love you too." Peyton said as she leaned in to Lucas's lips and kissed him.

Lucas intensified the kiss and the two engaged in a passionate lip lock. Peyton removed the tickets from her husband's hands and tossed them. She then threw the photos from off the bed and ripped off Lucas's shirt. Lucas rolled on top of Peyton and began unbuttoning her shirt and then tossed it onto the floor. The two continued the heated make-out session for a little while longer before Lucas moved on to Peyton's neck and began unhooking her bra. It was then that Peyton's eyes popped open in shock as she came to a sudden realization.

"Luke, this feels...really, really good, and as much as I don't want you stop, you-you need to."

"Why?" Lucas asked as he continued to kiss on Peyton's neck.

"Because..." a slightly out of breath Peyton began. "Any second...your mother is going to be here with Lizzie and unless you want our four-year-old daughter to walk in on us having SEX on HER BED, we need to stop."

Lucas instantly stopped. His jaw dropped and he looked up at his wife. "I cannot believe we were about to do it right here on Lizzie's bed!" He said in disbelief.

Peyton just shook her head and laughed.

"Peyton this is so not funny!" Lucas told his wife as he picked up his shirt from off the floor.

"I know." Peyton said, still chuckling. "It's just---"

Her words were interrupted by a sudden slam of the door from downstairs.

Peyton's eyes grew large. "Crap!"

Lucas quickly tossed his shirt on, while Peyton re-hooked her bra, picked up her shirt from the floor and quickly threw it on. She had just finished buttoning it up when Elizabeth emerged, with Karen and Lily.

Peyton smiled. "Hey guys...how was lunch?"

"Whatcha doing?" Elizabeth asked inquisitively, ignoring her mother's question.

Peyton ran a hand through her messy blonde locks as she smiled nervously at Lucas, who focused his attention onto Elizabeth. "Nothing but waiting for our favorite daughter to come home so we can spend some time with her!"

Elizabeth placed her hands on her hips and eyed her parents suspiciously. "Yeah right. You should've wiped off Mommy's lip gloss from your cheek if you wanted me to believe that one Daddy!"

Peyton took her thumb and wiped the gloss of her husband's cheek as Lucas glanced over at his mother and sister before addressing his daughter. "What else would we be doing Lizzie?"

"It looks like you were about to have sex."

Lucas, Peyton and Karen's mouths opened in shock and their eyes quickly zoomed in on Lily.

Lily, knowing exactly what they were thinking, immediately began defending herself. "Don't look at me!" She quickly exited the room, as well as Karen, and the two headed off downstairs.

"Lily didn't tell me about it." Elizabeth said as she took a seat on her bed next to Lucas. "Jamie did."

"Oh it was Jamie, huh?" Peyton said, feigning a fake smile. She whispered into her husband's ear. "Remind me to kill our nephew the next time I see him."

Lucas shook his head. "Oh I'm sure you won't need reminding."

Lucas then directed his attention toward Elizabeth. "So Lizzie, what exactly did Jamie tell you sex was?"

"Well..." Elizabeth began. "He said it's when mommies and daddies kiss on beds...a lot...and more."

"And what exactly did he mean by 'and more'?" Peyton asked curiously.

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know. He said he wouldn't tell me until I was six. But I can't wait that long. Will you tell me?"

Peyton and Lucas both shook their heads, got up from Elizabeth's bed and responded in unison. "No."

Elizabeth huffed as she hopped off the bed. "Why not? Is it something bad? Does it have something to do with why I couldn't listen to Madonna this morning?"

Lucas and Peyton both eyed their daughter curiously.

Elizabeth sighed. "Aunt Brooke wouldn't let me sing and dance to Like a Virgin...even though its my FAVORITE song!"

A horrified Lucas looked at his wife in shock. "Did you hear that Peyton? Our daughter's favorite song is Like a Virgin. How wonderful!"

"I heard." Peyton said sighing.

"So are you to going to tell me what 'and more' means or not?" Elizabeth asked changing the subject.

"Absolutely not." Peyton and Lucas responded together.

"Fine, if you two don't want to tell me then you can leave my room." Elizabeth stated matter-of-factly as she pushed her parents towards her bedroom door.

"So let me get this straight." Lucas said eying at his daughter. "You're kicking us out of your room, the room that your mother and I technically own since its part of the house, all because we're not talking?"

Elizabeth nodded her head. "Yup."

"But that's not very fair." Peyton told to her daughter, as she bent down and collected the tickets and photos from off the floor.

"Sorry kids, but that's life." Elizabeth said as she pushed Lucas and Peyton out of her room. "Life's not always going to be fair. Build a bridge and get over it."

And with that, Elizabeth slammed the door in Lucas and Peyton's faces. The blondes looked at each other.

Lucas took in a deep breath and pointed at the door. "There is NO WAY I'm letting THAT one out of my sight! As soon as she hits her teens, I'm locking her up in that room of hers until she's forty!"

Lucas shook his head as he brushed passed Peyton and headed downstairs. Peyton just shook her own head and chuckled softly as she followed her husband.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Sooo...Peyton's secret has finally been revealed. No she wasn't doing drugs or up to any other shameful activity...she was just hiding an elaborate surprise early birthday gift for Lucas! Anyways, it looks like Peyton's words got to Lucas and maybe now he'll be willing to talk to Nathan...perhaps give him the benefit of the doubt. And can you believe Lucas and Peyton almost had sex on Lizzie's bed! And oh boy Lizzie...a sassy, "Like a Virgin" loving, inquisitive four-year-old with an extremely knowledgeable older cousin=trouble lol. It looks like Lucas and Peyton have their work cut out for them with that one! Haha. Alright, I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter. It'll be a while til the next one, but I do have a few previews for you all...**

**Next Time...**

**Lucas and Nathan talk it out**

**Nathan and Julian hang out**

**Peyton and Jamie have it out! Lol**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
**

**And still to come...**

**A small little get together at the Naley household goes wrong...terribly wrong. How so? You'll have to wait and find out. All I'll say is that time will be of the essence.**


	14. Snitches and Talkers

**Snitches and Talkers Get Stitches and Walkers**

A/N: Ok…so here's the next chapter. Sorry it's been so long!! It's just…when I step away from this fic for a few days it takes a while for me to write the next chapter because there are so many little details I have to keep straight. Anyways…I hope you all like it! - Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

A short while later all of the commotion in the Leyton household had ceased. Lucas, Peyton, and Elizabeth were spending some quality time together, reading on the couch in the family room, when they heard frantic knocks coming from the door.

"Can I get it?!" Elizabeth asked excitedly.

Lucas nodded. "Yes, but see who it is first."

Elizabeth hopped off of Lucas's lap, ran out of the room and headed toward the window and pulled the curtains back.

"It's Aunt Haley and Uncle Nathan!" Elizabeth shouted to her parents.

"Let them in!" Lucas yelled back.

Elizabeth made her way to the front door and slowly unlocked it and opened it up.

"Lizzie…hey." Haley bent down to Elizabeth's eye level. "Are your---"

Elizabeth cut her off. "Mommy and Daddy are in the family room."

Haley and Nathan quickly brushed passed their niece and ran into the family room. Elizabeth stood still and scratched her head in confusion, before shrugging and skipping her way up the stairs to her room.

When Nathan and Haley reached the family room, Haley immediately started rambling.

"Lucas, I know the reason you ran out of my house earlier was because you found those photos of Peyton, but Nathan he…he told me what they're all about and they're not what you think and---"

Lucas got up from his spot on the couch. "Haley, stop. Peyton…she explained everything to me. I…I know about the tickets."

Nathan and Haley both looked at each other and sighed together in relief.

"Thank God." Haley said as she ran her hand through her hair. "So you two are…"

"A-okay." Peyton said smiling. "But thanks for stopping by to make sure."

Lucas nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah and it's actually a good thing that you two both stopped by because Nathan I…I would really like to talk to you."

"And I want to talk with you Haley."

Nathan and Haley briefly looked over at each other before redirecting their attention back to Lucas and Peyton and nodding their heads.

Lucas motioned for Nathan to follow him and the two brothers walked off into the kitchen.

"So Peyton, what is it that you want to talk to me about?"

Peyton shook her head. "Not here. Let's do this at your house."

"Ok but why?" asked a slightly confused Haley.

"Because it involves that lovely little nephew of mine. Is he home?"

Haley slowly nodded. "He should be. I mean, Brooke ran him over to the river court real quick to get something he had left there, but they're probably back now."

Peyton smiled devilishly. "Oh good."

Haley raised an eyebrow. "Peyton what did Jamie do?"

"I'll tell you all about it on the way." Peyton said as the two headed out of the family room. "Better yet, Lizzie will tell you all about it."

"Lizzie!" Peyton called out to her daughter. "Will you come here please?"

A few minutes later, Elizabeth emerged from her room and came running down the stairs.

"Yes Mommy?"

Peyton grabbed Elizabeth's hand. "Come on munchkin, we're going to Aunt Haley's and on the way you're going to tell her ALL about what Jamie's been teaching you."

Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "Oh you mean about sex?!"

Haley's eyes grew large and her jaw dropped in shock. "Oh God, I'm going to kill my son!"

Peyton shook her head. "Not if I get to him first."

Haley just shook her head in disappointment as her, Peyton and Elizabeth made their way out the door and toward Haley's car.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You want a drink or something?" Lucas asked his brother.

Nathan shook his head no as he sat down at the kitchen table.

Lucas nodded and took a seat across the table from Nathan.

The two sat together in silence for a long while before Lucas finally spoke up. "Nathan I…I wanted to talk to you so I could tell you that…I'm sorry."

"No Lucas, you have nothing---"

Lucas cut his brother off. "Yes, I do Nathan. Look, the day you were arrested at the hospital…you were trying to explain yourself and I wouldn't listen to anything you had to say. If I had…maybe I would've been able to realize then how absolutely ridiculous those claims sound."

Nathan shook his head. "Lucas---"

Lucas put up a hand to stop him from speaking. "Let me finish. Nathan…you're my brother. I should've had a little bit more faith in you. I know you and I know that you would never do something as stupid as to get high on some drugs and then VOLUNTEER to drive Peyton home all strung out. I'm sorry that it took me so long to see that. But I see it now and I want you to know that I'm with you Nathan. Peyton too and we're going to do whatever we can to help you and make sure that you beat those charges, ok?"

Nathan nodded as he got up from his chair. "Hearing that you believe in me…that means a lot Lucas. It's been a rough couple of days and I…I had really needed my brother and it's good to know I have him back."

"That you do." Lucas said as he sat up and walked over to Nathan and gave him a hug. "That you do."

"So…" Nathan began as he broke away from the embrace and sat back down in his chair. "It sounded like the girls left. I wonder where they went and what they're up to."

Lucas shook his head. "Oh I'm pretty sure Peyton's over at your house trying her hardest not to strangle your son."

Nathan sighed. "What did Jamie do?"

"Well…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"James Lucas Scott!" Haley screamed out as she walked into her home and threw her keys down on a nearby stand. "Get your butt down here!"

Brooke quickly emerged from the kitchen. "Haley, why are you yelling?"

"You'll see." Haley stated matter-of-factly. "Jamie!"

Elizabeth began tugging on Haley's skirt. "Aunt Haley, can I play with Chester? Is he in Jamie's room?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah go ahead. And tell Jamie I would like to see him please."

"Ok."

Elizabeth hurried off up the stairs and a few minutes later Jamie came trotting down.

"Sorry I didn't come down when you called. I had my headphones on. What's up?"

Haley looked over at Peyton. "He's all yours."

"So Jamie…" Peyton began. "Lizzie told me that you---"

"I'm sorry I broke your vase!" Jamie said interrupting. "The basketball…it just slipped from my hands. It was an accident."

Peyton's eyes widened. "You…you broke my favorite, one of a kind, irreplaceable vase!? The one I thought I had misplaced?! Playing basketball in my house?!"

Jamie shook his head. "You didn't know about the vase…"

"No I didn't." Peyton said putting her hands on her hips. "That's not what I was talking about."

"Then what's this about?"

"Have you been talking to Lizzie about sex?" Haley asked her son.

Jamie sighed. "I didn't even really tell her much!"

"It doesn't matter." Haley said shaking her head. "You planted a seed, that's a bad enough considering she's only four!"

"I don't know why I tell her anything." Jamie began mumbling under his breath. "She doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut."

"Apparently she's not the only one vase boy!" Haley admonished. "You're grounded for a month!"

Jamie's jaw dropped. "A month?!"

Haley nodded. "One week for playing ball in the house when you know not to. Another for breaking your Aunt Peyton's favorite vase, another for lying about it and not telling anyone and one more for telling your little cousin about sex."

"But that's not fair!"

"Oh I think it is." Haley replied back. "Now apologize for everything you did and then go upstairs to your room."

Jamie sighed and turned his attention to Peyton. "I'm sorry for breaking your vase and for talking with Lizzie about…you know."

Peyton nodded. "It's ok Jamie. Just tell me next time if you break something and try and keep it PG around Lizzie please."

Jamie nodded and then turned around and began to head up the stairs toward his room.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Jamie, can I feed Chester?" Elizabeth asked as she stood cradling the bunny in her arms. "I think he's hungry."

Jamie glared at Elizabeth and snatched Chester from her. "No. Now leave my room."

"Are you mad at me?" asked a confused Elizabeth. "What did I do?"

"You know what you did."

Elizabeth shook her head.

Jamie sighed. "You told my mom and Aunt Peyton that I told you about sex. You promised me that if I told you some things about it that you wouldn't tell the adults but what do you? Tell of course! You're such a snitch and now I'm grounded because of you!"

"But Mommy and Daddy asked me who told me. I didn't know that by telling I'd be getting you in troub—"

"Whatever." Jamie said interrupting. He went to place Chester back in his cage. "Go and watch tv in the guest room or something. Just get out of my room."

Jamie then guided Elizabeth out of his bedroom and closed the door.

Elizabeth stood outside of Jamie's room for a long while, frowning and confused. She eventually shrugged and went into the guest room down the hall to watch tv.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I'm sorry about the sex thing." Haley said as she poured Peyton a glass of water. "And for the vase."

Peyton shook her head. "It's okay. Lizzie can be really good at getting people to tell her things she shouldn't know. And as for the vase, I'm just glad I now know what happened to it."

Brooke sighed. "Kids are learning about things way too early these days."

"They sure are." Haley said taking a seat beside Peyton at the kitchen table.

"But you don't have to worry about Jamie." Brooke said taking a sip of water from her glass. "He knows a lot but…he has a good head on his shoulders."

Haley nodded. "Yeah I know."

Brooke directed her attention on to her best friend. "So Peyton…is everything ok? Haley called me while I was at the river court with Jamie and told me about how she thought Lucas found the photos and---"

"Everything's fine." Peyton said interrupting. "I had to spill the beans to Lucas about the tickets, but at least he doesn't think I'm a druggie anymore."

Brooke sighed in relief. "Well that's good. But now I guess Luke's back on Nathan, huh?"

Peyton shook her head. "No. Lucas and I…we had a good, long talk after I told him about the tickets and I think I finally got him to see how absolutely ridiculous those accusations against Nate are and how none of it makes any real sense."

Peyton looked over at Haley. "I'm sure Luke's trying to make amends with Nathan right now as we speak."

Haley nodded. "I'm glad. It appears as though things are starting to look up."

"Yeah." Peyton said as she played with her glass. "But we still don't know what happened. I mean, it seems as though someone slipped something into Nathan's drink and we need to figure out whom and why."

"And I've been attempting to do just that." Brooke said getting up from her chair. "After I went to see Julian this morning, I did some research and---"

"Wait did you say Julian?" Peyton asked surprised. "He's in town?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah."

"Why?"

"He had wanted to get into contact with Lucas. I think he wants to make his new book into a movie or something. He didn't know the reason Lucas wasn't returning his calls was because of the accident so he came to town to see what was up. He's happy you're awake by the way. So anyways…I had decided to research that drug they found in Nathan's system…Rohypnol…and discovered that while it's used to treat insomnia…it's also used as something else."

"What?" Peyton and Haley asked in unison.

Brooke began to pace about the kitchen. "Well Rohypnol, or Flunitrazepam…whatever you want to call it…it's sometimes used as a roofie."

Peyton and Haley both gasped in shock.

Haley shook her head in disbelief. "So that probably means---"

"That the date rape laced screwdriver was more than likely meant for me." A weary looking Peyton said cutting her off. "No one's out to get Nathan. Someone was out to get me."

Brooke attempted to reassure her friend. "Peyton, as horrible as this revelation seems, I don't think you really have anything to worry about."

Peyton raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean this is nothing to worry about?! Someone might have tried to drug me! And I have absolutely no idea why!"

"You honestly have no idea why?" Brooke asked looking at Peyton skeptically.

Peyton shook her head no and looked over at Haley, who just shrugged.

Brooke sighed. "Peyton have you forgotten the fact that you're a freakin MILF?! And that you were at a crowded club looking very hot? So to answer your question: any straight guy with a penis who was hoping to score themselves a hottie might have wanted to slip drugs into your drink. It was probably some random sleaze."

Haley nodded her head in agreement. "That makes sense."

"Besides Peyton…there's no one out there with a vendetta against you. I doubt you were specifically targeted for any other reason besides your looks. I'm starting to think that this whole incident was probably just an unfortunate, random act that obviously had nothing to do with Nathan. I just hope his lawyer can get the ADA to see that and hopefully the charges will be dropped. I mean, they have to be there's no real evidence against him anyway."

Peyton slowly nodded her head. "Yeah you guys are probably right about everything."

Brooke and Haley looked at each other and nodded. They both then headed toward the sink and began doing some dishes.

"At least I hope you're right." Peyton muttered underneath her breath.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**So…it looks like Lucas and Nathan are back on good terms. And it appears as though Brooke has given a pretty plausible explanation for what could of happened the night of the accident. Perhaps some random slimeball drugged Peyton's drink…hoping to get lucky and messed up by drugging Nathan's instead and putting too much in. But Peyton seems to have a funny feeling that if someone was really trying to drug HER that it was not a random, isolated incident, but instead deliberate and vindictive in nature. Do you think she should be worried? And it appears as though Jamie is mad at Elizabeth for getting him in trouble, though it's clear she didn't mean to. Keep the fact that Jamie is upset with her in the back of your minds folks! And this chapter's title…perhaps there's some foreshadowing in there. Anyways, please review with your thoughts/comments and though I don't have previews for the next chapter I do have a few previews for things still to come…**

**Nathan receives news from his lawyer regarding his case**

**Jamie's bitterness towardElizabeth continues and could indirectly result in tragedy.**

**"I'm sorry I had to do this…"**


	15. I Got Trouble

**I Got Trouble**

A/N: Ok…so here's the next chapter. Do you all really like this story? It's the hardest of all my fics to write because of all the little details and the mystery surrounding everything. I'll keep it going if y'all want me to. - Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So what do you think guys? You think Bandit will like it?"

Skills and Mouth examined the elaborate doghouse Lucas had finally finished putting together for Bandit.

"It's a little…big isn't it?" Mouth asked.

"And kind of fancy." Skills quickly added. "A little too fancy for a dog don't you think?"

Lucas shook his head. "Nah, it's perfect."

A few minutes later Elizabeth appeared at the kitchen's door. "Daddy, where's Mommy?"

"She's out running a couple of errands!" Lucas hollered to her daughter from across the yard. "Hey Lizzie, where's Bandit? Bring him outside; I want to show him his new doghouse."

Elizabeth nodded and went back in the house to go get Bandit. Moments later, her and the dog came running outside.

Lucas bent down in front of the dog. "Look what I made for you Bandit! You like it? Go on in and check it out."

Bandit turned his head sideways and stared long and hard at the doghouse, but didn't move.

Skills and Mouth looked at each other and began snickering.

Lucas shot them a dirty look and then redirected his attention back on to Bandit. "Come on boy, go try out your new house."

Bandit moaned and instead lied down on his back.

Elizabeth began rubbing the dog's stomach. "I don't think he likes it Daddy."

Lucas shook his head and sighed. "I think you're right Lizzie."

"You tried Luke." Skills said as he gave his friend a pat on the back.

Lucas nodded. "Oh well. Let's go back in the house."

"Can I stay out here with Bandit for a little while?" Elizabeth asked, giggling as Bandit began licking her face.

"Sure munchkin. But only for a little bit. I have to check your blood sugar in about 20 minutes and you're probably going to have to eat something."

Elizabeth sighed. "Ok."

Lucas nodded and him, Mouth, and Skills headed back into the house and into the kitchen. Lucas went into the fridge, grabbed three bottles of water and handed one to Skills and one to Mouth and the three sat down at the table. A few minutes later the boys heard a knock at the front door.

"It's unlocked! Come in!" Lucas called out. "I'm in the kitchen!"

The door opened and Nathan entered into the Leyton home and walked into the kitchen.

"Oh hey Nathan." Lucas said as he took a sip of his water. "What's going on? Is Haley with you?"

Nathan shook his head and smiled. "No I…I came alone. And she didn't drop me off. I drove here."

Lucas, Mouth and Skills all looked at each other and then turned their attention back to Nathan.

"Does that mean that---"

"The charges have been dropped!" Nathan said, interrupting his brother. "My lawyer called an hour ago and said that the ADA was throwing out my case. Considering the fact there wasn't a substantial amount of evidence against me and because I left my drink and stuff…he thought there was the possibility that someone might have slipped me something. I also think the fact that you and Peyton are standing behind me helped too."

Lucas smiled. "Nate, that's great!"

"It sure is man." Skills said agreeing. "It looks like things are finally starting to get back to normal now."

Lucas, Nathan and Mouth nodded their heads in concurrence.

The foursome began talking about basketball for a little while when their conversation was interrupted by Bandit storming into the kitchen through the doggie door. He instantly went over to Lucas and began barking loudly.

"Bandit why are you---"

Bandit grabbed a hold of Lucas's pants leg in an attempt to get him out of his seat. Lucas got up and Bandit instantly ran back outside.

Lucas, Nathan, Mouth and Skills followed Bandit outside and all four of their jaws dropped at the sight of an unconscious Elizabeth passed out on the grass.

Lucas instantly ran over to his daughter. He bent down on the ground, picked up the little girl and held her in his arms. "Lizzie! Lizzie!"

"Should we call 911?!" Mouth asked.

Lucas shook his head. "No. But Nathan…I need you to go in the house and grab the hypoglycemia kit. It's on the counter in the kitchen."

Nathan nodded and hurried back in the house. He appeared moments later and ran the kit over to Lucas.

Lucas carefully laid Elizabeth down on her side and calmly opened up the kit up. He grabbed a syringe and glucagon vial. He injected the liquid from the syringe into the vial and began shaking it up. Luke then turned the vial upside down and slowly withdrew the contents into the syringe. He placed the empty vial down, and injected exactly half of the solution into Elizabeth's thigh. He placed the syringe and the rest of the materials back into the kit and quickly directed his attention back to Elizabeth, waiting for her to awaken. A couple of minutes passed by and Elizabeth slowly opened up her eyes.

After it was apparent that she wasn't going to throw up, Lucas quickly scooped up Elizabeth into his arms. "Lizzie, can you drink something?"

The little girl slowly nodded her head yes.

"Nathan! Juice box!"

Nathan nodded and once again sprinted into the house and came running a few seconds later with a juice box in his hands. He handed it to Lucas.

Lucas opened up the juice box and held it up to Elizabeth. "Here baby, drink this."

Elizabeth slowly drank the juice. Once she finished, Lucas placed the empty box on the ground and carried Elizabeth back into the house. Nathan, Mouth, Skills and Bandit followed behind.

Lucas carefully placed Elizabeth in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "How you feeling munchkin?"

"Okay."

"I'm going to fix you a sandwich and you have to eat the whole thing alright?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes."

Lucas walked to the opposite side of the kitchen and washed his hands at the sink. He then pulled out some bread and peanut butter from the cupboard. He grabbed a butter knife from a draw, then walked to the refrigerator and got the jelly and began making the sandwich. Nathan, Skills and Mouth joined him.

"Luke, what happened?" Skills asked whispering. "Is she going to be okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Her blood sugar got too low. She had a hypoglycemic episode. Her passing out like that…it's happened before, though not a lot. She seems to be fine, but she still needs to eat and after I'll have to call and talk to her doctor to make sure I don't have to bring her down to his office or the hospital or anything. I don't think I'll need to though."

Mouth shook his head in amazement. "You were like superdad out there. How in the world did you stay so calm?"

"It's hard." Lucas said honestly. "I mean, if hypoglycemia isn't treated quickly she could of started convulsing, gone into shock or worse. But the key is not to panic because that's how major mistakes are made…through panicking."

Lucas finished making the sandwich and brought the plate over to Elizabeth.

He gave the dog a pat on the head. "Good boy Bandit." and then walked back over to his friends.

Lucas stared long and hard at Elizabeth, before turning around cleaning up the counter. He began whispering to the boys. "Though Peyton and I do our best to try and prevent a severe hypoglycemic episode, it sometimes will still happen and it could happen anywhere, anytime which scares the crap out of me because I'm afraid that one day it might happen at the wrong place at the wrong time and there won't be anything anyone can do for her."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Julian shook his head as he lit up his cigarette with a lighter.

"Look…I really don't give a shit. I'm paying you a lot of money right now…therefore, you're going to do WHAT I say…WHEN I say it, you got it? Now…we need to start getting this thing into motion because I've been waiting too damn long and I don't feel like waiting much longer because I really don't think I can fake---what?! No, no no…that's not going to happen. Why? Because I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! That's why! You're REALLY starting to piss me…"

Julian let his voice trail off when he heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?!" He called out.

"It's Peyton."

Julian quickly put out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray and whispered quietly into the phone. "I gotta go, we'll discuss this later."

Julian ended the call, hid the ashtray and began waving the room. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, took a deep breath and headed for the door.

"Peyton…hey it's a…good to see you. I heard about your accident and I'm so sorry. I had wanted to go and see you, but I didn't want to impede on Lucas and Elizabeth's time with you."

Peyton shook her head. "No, it's ok. Umm…anyways…do you have a few minutes? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Yeah…sure." Julian motioned for Peyton to come in.

Peyton nodded and followed Julian into the room. Julian shut the door behind her and offered her a chair. Peyton smiled and sat down. She sniffed the air.

"It smells like smoke in here."

Julian shrugged it off. "Yeah I think the maid's like a chain smoker or something. It always smells like this after she cleans."

Peyton nodded. "So anyways…I can't stay long. It's just…"

"It's just what?" asked a concerned looking Julian.

Peyton took in a deep breath. "It's about my accident."

Julian eyed her curiously. "What about it?"

"Well…do you know about Nathan? And how he was arrested and everything?"

Julian nodded. "Yeah…Brooke told me about that. It sounds like…"

"Complete B.S.? I know. You see…Brooke and Haley…we were talking yesterday and we tried to figure out what happened. It really seems as though someone might have drugged Nathan's drink when he walked away from it."

"Really?" Julian asked raising an eyebrow.

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, but here's the thing. Nathan and I…we were both drinking the same type of drink. We both momentarily walked away from them. The drug that was used…it's a type of date-rape drug. Brooke…she seems to think some random sleaze at the club probably tried to drug MY drink…hoping to get lucky."

"And I'm guessing you don't?"

Peyton shook her head. "No I don't. I do think that she's right about the drink probably being for me and not Nathan, but…I have a funny feeling it wasn't random."

"And why is that?"

"Well at work a few weeks ago I got this strange letter…"

_Peyton, busy working at her desk, was interrupted by a knock on her door._

_"Come in."_

_The door opened and Peyton looked up and saw that it was her assistant Maya. _

_"Hey Maya, what's up?"_

_"Just bringing you the mail." Maya said as she plopped the mail on the desk. "It's all junk, but there is one thing in there that I wasn't sure about because there was no return address on it. I thought it might be private so I didn't want to open it." _

_Peyton picked up the mysterious envelope. "Hmm...I don't know what this one could be. But thanks for bringing me the mail."_

_"No problem." Maya said as she made her way to the door and exited the office._

_Peyton carefully ripped open the envelope and pulled out its contents. She looked long and hard at the sheet of paper before her._

_Peyton read the sheet aloud to herself. "I'll never forget what you did."_

"That's all it said?"

Peyton nodded and pulled out the paper from her purse and handed it to Julian. "Yeah."

Julian looked at it. "This is…weird. Did you ever say anything to Lucas or anyone else about it?"

"No." Peyton said shaking her head. "I thought it was just someone messing around with me. I didn't take it all that seriously. Until now. Brooke she was saying that the person who probably drugged the drink was some random guy looking to score because there's no one out there with a vendetta against me. But you and I both know that's not true."

Julian scratched his head. "You talking about Sara Carter aren't you?"

"Yes. She's out for me Julian. I know it. That cryptic message was a warning from her. And I'm really starting to think that night at Brooke's party was a failed attempt BY HER to get at me."

"But Peyton…it's been like what? Six years now? You really think after all of this time Sara's out to get you NOW? For something that wasn't even your fault?"

Peyton nodded. "It's been a long time now, but hasn't she been in prison these past few years because of the whole bad check thing? What if she's out now? And maybe since she hasn't been able to enact her revenge against me because she's been locked up...she's doing it now. Yeah it's been a long time but I'm sure her crazy self hasn't stopped blaming me for putting her husband six feet under."

Julian sighed. "That was an accident Peyton. There wasn't anything you could've done."

"I know that. But Sara never could see that and I still remember her screaming at me during Adam's funeral. She screamed out over and over again the same words on that note, "I'll never forget what you did!"

"You really worried about this?"

Peyton shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I could just be overreacting and looking into things way too much."

Julian pondered momentarily, taking in everything him and Peyton had discussed. "Ok…let me dig into Sara for you. I have pretty good connections…I'm sure I can find out where she is and what she's up to these days. In the meantime, try not to worry about this whole thing because I honestly think that Brooke's right. Nathan's drink was more than likely accidentally drugged by a creep hoping to get lucky with you."

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, you guys are probably right. But thanks for still looking into the whole Sara thing for me. I appreciate that."

"No problem."

Peyton took the note from Julian and got up from her chair. "Alright I better get back home before Lucas starts worrying about me."

"Ok, I'll talk to you soon."

Peyton nodded and then exited Julian's hotel room.

As soon as Peyton had left, his cell phone rang.

"Hey---well I'm sorry I hung up on you I had an unexpected vis---yeah, yeah…exactly. Ok so listen…there are some things I need to tell you about and it's very important that you listen to me carefully…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Okay…so a lot of interesting stuff happened in this chapter. You all now know what could happen to Elizabeth sometimes and Lucas expressed his fears that he hopes she never has an episode at the wrong place at the wrong time…hmm…and who's this Sara girl that Peyton and Julian know and were talking about? Why does she blame Peyton for her husband's death? Do you think that Peyton's overreacting and reading into things too much or could Sara be out to get her? And what's up with Julian and that weird phone call? I don't know…review with your thoughts/comments! **

**Next time…**

**L.A. flashbacks **


	16. The City of Angels?

**The City of Angels?**

A/N: FYI…that last chapter took place the day after Lucas/Nathan made up and Jamie got grounded. Ok…so here's the next one. No Brooke :( , but I still think it's pretty good. Anyways…I hope you all enjoy it! - Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Later that night…_

"Daddy! Help!" Elizabeth yelled as she flew down the stairs and into the kitchen. She hopped into her father's arms. "Mommy's trying to prick me AGAIN!"

Peyton emerged into the kitchen moments later, holding a glucose meter in her hand. "Lizzie! It'll take two seconds, let me---"

"No!" Elizabeth shouted, shaking her head. "Daddy already checked me while you were in the shower!"

"Well I didn't see him do it."

"But I did. And she's fine." Lucas said to his wife. He then carefully put his daughter onto the floor and bent down to her eye level. "Now…why don't you hop back into bed. I'll be up in a sec to read you your story."

Elizabeth nodded and hurried off upstairs.

Lucas sighed. "You've gotta stop with the unnecessary pricks Peyton."

"Unnecessary?" Peyton asked raising an eyebrow. "Did our daughter not lie on that ground outback unconscious this afternoon because of her diabetes? I don't think a couple of extra checks are really---"

"A couple?" Lucas asked interrupting. "One or two extra checks I understand, but Peyton…you're pricking the girl every half hour. I know you're just worried, but come on…you're going WAY overboard! She hates all the shots and testing as is and you're extras are just going to make her develop a complex…which would be a horrible thing considering the fact that she's going to have to deal with this for the rest of her life."

Peyton gave Lucas a look as she plopped down in a chair at the table. "Ok, ok. I'll stop. I just…I wish I was here when it happened! I can't believe I wasn't!"

"But I was." Lucas said as he pulled a chair over to Peyton and took a seat. "And I was on it and Elizabeth…she's ok. Please don't be mad at yourself for not being here. You can't always be around 24/7."

Peyton nodded. "I know, I know. But if I was maybe I could've…"

"Prevented it?" Lucas asked. "Not necessarily."

Lucas paused momentarily as he sought the right words to ease his wife's fears.

"While you were in the shower I was talking with Elizabeth and she said that she had been on her way back into the house right before she collapsed to tell me she felt funny…which is a good thing because it means she's starting to pick up on the signs and is beginning to recognize when she's low and needs to eat. She's only four but in time, I'm sure Lizzie will be able to pick up on it a bit quicker and her severe hypoglycemic episodes…they'll be few in far between."

Peyton sighed. "You really think so?"

"No…" Lucas began as he got up from his seat, leaned into Peyton and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I know so. Now I better get upstairs to Lizzie before she starts---"

"DAAADDDDYYYY!!!!!"

Lucas and Peyton both closed their eyes and winced at the shrieks coming from upstairs.

"Screaming my name." Lucas finished shaking his head. "I'll be back down in a little. Maybe we can watch a movie or something when I'm done."

Peyton nodded. "Sounds good."

Lucas smiled and hurried out of the kitchen and headed upstairs toward Elizabeth's bedroom.

Peyton remained where she was in the kitchen, letting her mind drift…

_L.A…_

_"It's so beautiful." Peyton said, shaking her head. "And so…you. Who knew Adam had such good taste."_

_"Not me." Sara said as she smiled down at her engagement ring. "But I'm sure glad he does. Now enough about me. How are things going with you and Julian?"_

_Peyton took a sip of her coffee. "We're good. Really good. We're totally in love and I'm happier than I've been in a really long time."_

_Sara nodded. "That's great. Because I like Julian a lot. He's a good guy for you. Although I'm not going to lie…I'm DYING to meet this infamous Lucas I've heard and read so much about! He must've been something special. You wouldn't be carrying around that book with you all the time if he wasn't. I'm sure you have it on you right now."_

_Peyton gave her friend a look, but remained silent._

_"You do!" Sara said laughing. _

_Peyton continued to quietly glare at Sara._

_"Oh Sawyer…you know I'm only teasing. It's what your L.A. bestie does best! "_

_Peyton got up from her seat at their table and threw out a tip. "Well you won't be my 'L.A. bestie' for long if I keep hearing you giving me crap about Lucas."_

_"Watch you gonna do Sawyer? Stab me in my sleep one night when I least expect it?"_

_Peyton shook her head and chuckled softly. "I don't know…maybe."_

_Sara took one last sip of her chai as she got up from her own seat. "That's not going to happen."_

_"Oh really?" Peyton asked raising an eyebrow. "And why is that?_

_Sara walked up to Peyton and whispered into her ear . "Because I'm going to get you first."_

_The two friends then stared into each others eyes for a long while before eventually breaking out into laughter and walking out of the café together, arm in arm._

Peyton's mind eventually drifted back to the present day. She just shook her head as she got up from her spot at the kitchen table and exited into the living room.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Some more wine ms.?"

Haley smiled. "Yes, thank you."

The waiter refilled her glass. "If there is anything else the two of you need, let me know."

Nathan nodded and the waiter walked off to another table.

"This has been such an amazing night." Haley said as she took a sip of her wine. "I'm so glad we decided to go out for dinner."

"Me too." Nathan said as he bit into his steak. "And I'm just glad things are starting to return back to normal…Lucas and I…we're good again…the charges have been dropped. Things are good. It would be nice if we could figure out exactly what happened, but---"

"We probably never will." Haley said interrupting.

Nathan nodded his head in agreement and the two continued to enjoy their dinner in silence before Haley spoke up once again.

"Let's have a party."

Nathan eyed his wife curiously. "A party?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah, I mean…not like a rave or anything. Just a little get together. The whole gang hasn't hung out since Brooke's and it'd be nice to get everyone together again…on a good note. Besides…Karen, Andy and Lily are leaving soon and the whole thing could sort of work as a farewell party for them too."

"I'd be down for that." Nathan said as he played with his wine glass. "But on one condition."

"What?"

"We have it at the house. That way we're in control and we'll know who's coming and going. I don't ever want something to happen at one of our parties like what happened at Brooke's."

"Neither do I." Haley said agreeing.

"I don't think it will." Nathan said as he picked up his glass and took a sip. "But I'd feel more comfortable if it was at the house."

Haley nodded. "Me too."

Nathan smiled and leaned over across the table and gave his wife a quick peck on the lips. The two stared lovingly into each others eyes before eventually returning their attention back on to their plates and finishing up their dinner.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Julian was about to light up a cigarette when his cell started going off. He quickly answered it.

"What's going o---oh you did? So where exactly has she been hiding these days? Oh really…and has she---oh she's not going by Sara anymore? Interesting. Ok…thanks for the---oh, no no no no you don't have to worry about him. He's long gone and never coming back…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_L.A. nightclub..._

_"What did you do?" Julian asked curiously._

_Sara eyed him devilishly. "You'll see soon enough."_

_"Oh no." Julian said shaking his head. "You have to at least give me a hint."_

_"Ok, ok." Sara said giving in. "Here's one: fish and visitors both stink after three days."_

_"Must you always talk in riddles?" Julian asked. "It's getting old."_

_Sara glanced over at Peyton and the two girls burst out in laughter. _

_"Who says I'm talking in riddles now?" Sara said in between giggles. "If I were you, I'd head back to that apartment of yours ASAP!"_

_Julian's jaw dropped. "Tell me…tell me you didn't…fill my apartment with…with fish!"_

_Sara stopped laughing and shook her head. "Oh no. I'd never do that."_

_Julian sighed in relief. "Good."_

_"I just did the kitchen!"_

_Sara and Peyton resumed their laughter._

_Julian's jaw dropped once again. "Carter you're unbelievable! And Peyton…I can't believe you're laughing about this! It's so not funny!"_

_"No it's not." Sara said in between giggles. "What's funny…is that your girlfriend actually HELPED me do it! Haha!"_

_Julian looked over at Peyton who was now in hysterics. He shook his head and began rummaging around in his pockets for his keys_

_"Where you going Julian?" a smiling Peyton asked her boyfriend._

_"You know very well where I'm going." Julian said as he pulled out his keys. "I'm going to try and see if I can salvage my kitchen. I hope you know this means I'll be staying with you…since my apartment is probably no longer habitable."_

_Peyton nodded. "Whatever, that's fine. So long as you're out in three days!"_

_Julian just rolled his eyes at his laughing girlfriend and friend and quickly made his way out of the crowded club._

_A chuckling Sara shook her head and took a sip of her sex on the beach. "I love pulling fast ones on Julian. It's so funny seeing him pissed off."_

_"That it is." Peyton said as she downed the rest of her water and placed the cap back on the bottle. "Gosh…it is so hot in here. I think I'm going to head up to the roof and get some air."_

_Sara nodded. "Ok. Oh…and if you see Adam, tell him to come back down. I feel like he's been hiding from me all night."_

_"Will do." Peyton said as she hopped off her seat from the bar and headed up the stairs toward the club's rooftop._

_When she reached the top, she was surprised to see it empty, except for Adam…who was staring aimlessly off into space._

_"Hey stranger…" Peyton said, walking over to him. "So tell me…how in the world did you manage to clear out the entire rooftop?"_

_Adam chuckled softly. "Well there was only a small group of girls up here and all I did was tell them there was a rat wandering about and they jetted."_

_Peyton nodded. "Nice."_

_The two stood together, staring at the stars in the sky for a long while, the night wind blowing strong. Peyton looked over at Adam._

_"So…what are you doing up here by yourself instead of spending the night with that hot new wife of yours downstairs?"_

_Adam thought long and hard before answering. "I don't know."_

_"You're not regretting marrying her are you?" _

_Adam vehemently shook his head. "No, no. I love Sara…with all my heart…"_

_"I'm sensing a but coming."_

_Adam sighed. "No buts. I love her and I most definitely wouldn't have married he if I didn't. It's just…I still feel so…empty inside.. Like…I have this void in my soul that just won't go away…no matter what I do and I don't know why."_

_Adam then walked over to the roof's ledge. He hopped up on it and began balancing. Peyton's eyes widened in shock._

_"Are you crazy?! Get down from there!"_

_"Relax Peyton." Adam said as he started hopping up and down on the ledge on one leg. "I haven't been drinking tonight. I won't fall. And would it really be that big of a deal if I did?"_

_Peyton eyed her friend curiously. "What do you mean by that?"_

_Adam stopped playing around and looked directly into Peyton's eyes. "I guess what I'm saying is…we've all gotta die at some point Peyton."_

_He took his gaze off of her and_ _looked down toward the streets. Peyton could sense what was about to happen next and she instantly ran over to the ledge as Adam fell from the top and managed to grab him just in time. She then held onto the dangling man with all her might._

_"Adam, what are you doing?!" Peyton shrieked. "I get that you're hurting, but this…it isn't the answer!"_

_Adam sighed. "Peyton, you can't hold onto me forever. Let me go."_

_She shook her head. "No, I won't." She then began screaming out as loud as she could. "Help! Somebody help!"_

_Peyton looked down toward the streets and saw people pointing up at her and Adam and noticed a couple running into the club. _

_Peyton began breathing heavily. She whispered quietly to herself, "I just have to hold on for a bit longer…"_

_"Or you could just let me go." Adam said staring into Peyton's eyes._

_"No!"_

_"Tell Sara I love her." Adam said quietly. "And that I'm sorry I had to do this."_

_He then took his hands and released himself from Peyton's grasp and let himself fall down to the ground. _

_"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" Peyton screamed out. _

_She looked down and saw a crowd of people surrounding Adam's body. A bunch of them started shaking their heads and one called out. "He's gone!"_

_Just then, a flood of people from downstairs came rushing toward her. Peyton turned around and the first person she came face to face with was Sara._

_"Peyton what happened?!"_

_Peyton burst into tears and began shaking her head. "Adam he…he hopped…onto…th-the ledge…and then he jumped. I…I was able to grab him before he…he fell and even though he was really heavy…I…I w—was able to hold him up, but then he…he—he he just let himself go. He...he released himself from my grip and fell…fell to the ground. Adam he's…he's gone Sara. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."_

_Sara stood still in shock and disbelief. The tears suddenly began flowing from her eyes as she dropped down to her knees. _

_Peyton walked over to Sara and attempted to put her arms around her friend in an effort to comfort her, but Sara pushed her away._

_"You never should've let him get on that ledge. You should've held on to him. You…you shouldn't of let him fall. This is all your fault Peyton. It's your fault my husband's DEAD!"_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_A few days later, at the burial site…_

_"Julian…I don't think I should be here. I'm sure Sara doesn't want me here."_

_Julian took Peyton's hand into his and kissed it. "Peyton, Adam's death was not your fault. It's obvious now that he was depressed and had he not succeeded that night in offing himself…he…he would've found another way to do it at another time. You did everything you could and deep down…Sara knows your not to blame for any of this."_

_Peyton nodded and her and Julian were about to head off toward the crowd of people paying their respects when Peyton suddenly felt a tap from behind. She turned around and saw Sara staring before her._

_She stared into her friend's eyes. "Sara, I---"_

_"What are you doing here Peyton?" She asked interrupting. "You know your not welcome. This…this ceremony is for people who loved Adam. Not for the girl who let him balance on a roof ledge and just watches him fall to his death."_

_Peyton shook her head. "Sara I loved Adam. He was a dear friend and I…I tried so hard to save him---"_

_"Shut up Peyton!" Sara yelled out. " Just shut up! I don't want to hear it. You didn't care about Adam. If you had, you wouldn't have let him die. But you let him die and I will NEVER forgive you for that. I'll never forget what you did! You better watch yourself Sawyer because karma's a bitch."_

"Earth to Peyton."

Lucas's words caused Peyton to suddenly come back to reality. "Huh? What did you say?"

Lucas popped a few popcorn kernels into his mouth and plopped down on the couch next to her. "I asked if you were ready to watch the movie."

"Well what movie?"

Lucas pondered for a long while. "I can't remember the name but it's the one you were telling me about and said I just had to see. You bought it two weeks…umm the Angelina Jolie movie…damn what's it---"

"Wanted?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah that's it. You want to watch that?"

Peyton sighed. "The last thing I want to watch is a movie about a hot kick ass female assassin who loves to kill."

"Ok…well then what do you want to watch?"

"Well it looks like there's a dvd in the player now. Why don't we just watch whatever's in there."

Lucas nodded as he handed the bowl of popcorn over to Peyotn and grabbed the remote from the stand next to him. He hit the play button and moments later Zac Efron and friends appeared on the screen singing.

_"This is the last time to get it right! This is the last chance to make it or not! We gotta show what we're all about (TEAM!) work together! This is the last chance to make our mark! History will know who we are! This is the last game so make it count it's…now or never!"_

Lucas glanced over at Peyton who was intently staring at the screen.

"Uh Peyton…you do realize this is High School Musical, right?"

Peyton nodded her head slowly. "Yup."

"And you want to watch this?"

She grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into her mouth. "Yup."

Lucas shrugged and got comfortable on the couch. "Ok then. High School Musical 3: Senior Year it is."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Okay…so I hope you all enjoyed this extra long chapter!! I totally did mean for it to be this long, but…it happened anyways! So…lot's of stuff went on in this chapter. You all got to learn a bit more about Sara. She's a pretty fun…riddler-loving joksterand was apparently really good friends with Peyton during the L.A. days…at least until the night Adam died. So what do you guys think of her? And it looks like Julian may have found Sara. And it also looks like Naley is planning a little get together. Sounds like a good idea considering all the drama that had been going on witheveryone. But will their little party really end up being drama free? Hmm…I don't know. Oh and I want to explain my Jamie to you all a bit better. Now...Jamie is not a bad kid. He's just like any other 10-year-old. He does things and says things he shouldn't sometimes, but who doesn't? As for his relationship with Elizabeth...think of it as a brother/sister type thing. He loves her, but she can drive him crazy sometimes. He might yell at her every once and a while, but he'd never intentionally go and try to phyiscally hurt her or anything, ok? Anyways...please review with your thoughts/predictions. I appreciate them greatly! And hey…the more reviews I get, the quicker I'll try and update! Okay…so no previews for the next chapter, but here are some teasers for things still to come in the not so distant future.**

**A fed up Jamie lashes out at Elizabeth**

**Peyton tells Brooke about her past with Sara**

**The Naley party**

******"She wore a yellow ribbon…"**


	17. Our Lips Are Sealed

**Our Lips Are Sealed**

A/N: So…I'm pretty much devastated right now and I think all of you fans who read up on the OTH news/gossip know why. I feel so uninspired because of it too. The only reason there's even a new chapter is because I wrote most of it when I wrote the previous one. That being said…this short little chapter might be the last. I'm so totally not motivated to finish this story…even though I really do love it…besides I don't even think a lot of people are reading anyway. But idk, we'll see I suppose. – Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_The next day…_

An agitated Peyton stood by the stairs next to Brooke and the babysitter, Vanessa, who was waiting to take Elizabeth to her dance class.

"Elizabeth Penelope Scott!" Peyton shouted out. "Hurry up! Vanessa has been here waiting on you for FAR too long now! If you're not down in the next two minutes I'm going to---"

Just then Elizabeth came running down the stairs and ran straight over to Vanessa and engulfed her in a huge bear hug. "VANESSA!"

"LIZARD! I've missed you! How was New Zealand?"

"I had a lot of fun!"

Vanessa smiled. "That's great. Alright chica…you ready to go to hip hop?"

"Si!" Elizabeth yelled out as she hopped onto Vanessa back for a piggy back ride to the car. "Let's vamos!"

The two then made their way to the front door to leave, but not before Elizabeth shouted out to Peyton and Brooke, "Hasta la vista mis amores!"

Brooke shook her head in amazement as she and Peyton entered into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table. "How in the world did Lizzie learn to speak Spanish so well?"

"Diego and Dora." Peyton said as she took a sip of her coffee. "And boy does she LOVE them…their shows are pretty much ALL she watches in the mornings these days."

Brooke laughed. "And I'm guessing Lizzie forces you and Luke to watch with her huh?"

Peyton shook her head. "No, mainly just Vanessa. Me…sometimes, but never Lucas. She knows he can't stand watching either show so she doesn't force him to."

"Lucas won't sit and watch a little Nick Jr. with his daughter? That's awful!"

Peyton smiled. "Yeah, but I'm now positive that he'll at least be watching Disney with her more often."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yup." Peyton said laughing. "You see last night he fell in love with---"

Just then the two best friends heard singing coming from the staircase.

"This is the last time to get it right! This is the last chance to make it or not! We gotta show what we're all about (TEAM!) work together! This is the last chance to make our mark! History will know who we are! This is the last game so make it count it's…now or never!"

Lucas hummed the rest of the song as he entered into the kitchen, but he instantly stopped and his face turn beat red when he came face to face with Peyton and Brooke.

"He fell in love with High School Musical!" Brooke shouted out in between laughs.

A giggly Peyton just shook her head. "Yeah…you see last night he wanted to watch a movie and I was too lazy to pick one out so I told him to just play whatever was in the dvd player and it was High School Musical 3 so we watched it and he freaking loved it! After it was over I went to bed, but he stayed up and watched the first two movies!"

The two girls continued to laugh as Lucas glared at them. "I don't see what's so funny! They're all really good! Although Lizzie and I…we need to talk. I'm not a fan of that Sharpay girl she idolizes so much."

Brooke's laughter's grew. "Oh Lucas! This is great! I can't wait to tell---"

"Nobody!" Lucas said interrupting. "You're not going to tell anyone. Either of you."

Brooke sighed. "Fine, fine. Our lips are sealed."

Lucas nodded. "Thank you."

He momentarily turned his back away from the girls as he opened up the fridge to get a drink and Peyton quickly whispered into her best friend's ear. "You're really not going to say anything?"

Brooke shook her head. "My lips are only staying sealed until I see Haley. And then I'm going to open those suckers up and tell her everything!"

"So Brooke…" Lucas said as he grabbed a Fiji water and closed the refrigerator. "I heard Julian was back in town and wanted to talk to me about doing another movie? But I haven't seen or even heard from him at all. You know what's up?"

"I don't know." Brooke said as she played with her empty mug. "I haven't talked to him in a couple of days. He's like M.I.A. right now. I'm not even sure he's in Tree Hill."

Lucas nodded. "Ok, whatever then. Alright…I'm going upstairs in the office to write for a while."

Lucas exited the kitchen and left the two girls alone.

"So you really haven't talked with Julian?"

Brooke shook her head. "Not real recently. It's been a few days. And the last time I did he was acting so strange. I don't know what's up with him…he's not himself at all."

Peyton took another sip of her coffee. "I went to see him yesterday."

"You did?" Brooke asked raising an eyebrow.

Peyton nodded. "Yeah and umm…I think I'm the reason he's M.I.A. at the moment."

"How are you the reason?"

"Well…he's looking for someone for me and I'm now starting to think he might've found her."

"Who?" asked a now very curious Brooke.

Peyton sighed. "An ex friend of mines from L.A…Sara Carter."

"Why are you trying to find her?"

"Well…" Peyton began, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "Look, I know you think the whole drugged drink thing was just some random sleaze that was looking to score with me, but…I don't. I think there's a slight possibility it might've been Sara."

Brooke's eyes widened. "But why in the world would---"

Peyton interrupted. "Her husband….Adam…he committed suicide and she blames me for it."

Brooke shook her head. "But…why would she think that's your fault?"

"Because I was with him when he did it. We…were on a rooftop together alone. He jumped on the roof's ledge and started talking crazy…about how he felt so empty inside and alone. And the next thing I know he's looking down and I can tell he's about to jump so I run over to him and grab him just as he does. So there I am…holding him over the ledge with all my might…screaming at the top of my lungs for someone to come help. People from down below…they noticed what was going on and I saw them rushing into the building to come and help me, but Adam he…he wanted to die. He looked me in the eyes and said to tell Sara that he loved her and that he was sorry he had to do this. He…he was so strong and he…he was easily able to release himself from grasps and… he did. And then he fell. I…I watched him fall and watched his head smack into the concrete. It was the worst thing I've ever witnessed Brooke. He pretty much died right on impact. Sara she…was so devastated. The last time I saw her was at his funeral when she was yelling at me to leave and telling me that his death was all my fault and that she'd never forget what I did and that karma's always a bitch."

Tears began to well up in Brooke's eyes. "Oh my God. Peyton…why didn't you ever tell me about this?"

"I haven't told anyone about it because it has always been too hard to talk about." Peyton said sighing. "I never even told Lucas. And please don't say anything to him. I don't want him to worry unnecessarily."

Brooke nodded. "Ok, I won't. But Peyton…I hope you know that your friend's death…wasn't you're fault. You did what you could. Don't feel guilty about it."

"I know, I know. It still would've been nice to hear that from Sara though, you know? She…she was my closest girl friend in L.A. We did everything together. It hurt a lot when I lost her."

Brooke got up from her seat and put her arms around Peyton. "I'm sorry Peyton. I'm so sorry."

Peyton wiped away the tears that had started to fall down her face. "I wish it never happened. But it did and now…maybe after all of these years Sara…she's finally deciding to seek her revenge against me. Or maybe not…I don't know. I could just be making a mountain of a molehill."

"Well if Julian found her…I'm sure we'll be finding out soon enough what she's up to."

Peyton nodded. "I hope so."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Savannah, Georgia…_

"What's the name of that diner again? Is it Kelly's? Good…I've found it then."

Julian pulled up into the diner's parking lot and hopped out of the car. He peeked through the window.

"I see her." He said into his cell. "I'm going in. I'll call you when I'm done."

Julian ended the call and made his way into the diner. He took a seat in the first booth he saw, picked up a menu and covered his face with it. A few moments later a pretty blue-eyed brunette woman walked over to his table.

"What can I get for you today, sir?"

"Well if it isn't Sara Carter?" Julian dropped his menu and stared devilishly into his waitress's eyes. He glanced down at her name tag. "Or should I say 'Alyson.' Long time no see."

Sara's eyes widened in shock and she was about to respond when another waitress, Darlene, who was standing nearby interrupted her.

"Al…did he just call you…"

"Sara?" the brunette asked staring into Julian eyes. "Yeah."

Sara walked over to Darlene and whispered into her ear. "Can you cover for my tables for me?"

Darlene nodded and Sara walked back over to Julian.

"You and me…we need to talk. Now. But not here."

Julian nodded and he got up from his seat and he followed Sara out into the empty parking lot so the two could talk privately.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

A fuming Julian threw a cigarette out of his car window and began pounding on the steering wheel as he drove. He began talking to himself…

"This is so un-FUCKING believable! Although…this really shouldn't be all that surprising to me. I…I always knew there was something very shady about that girl. Ugh...what the HELL should I tell Peyton?! I obviously am not going to tell her the truth...that's for sure! FUCK...what--what am I going to do?! How should I handle this?! Damn you Sara…damn you…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Okay so there it is. What did Sara tell Julian that has him so freaked and upset? Why doesn't Julian want Peyton to know whatever it is Sara told him? I don't have much more to say so…yeah. Not sure if I'm finishing, but who knows. If I feel inspired and if people really want me to then I will. Otherwise…I don't know. Thanks to those who do like my story and review though. I appreciate them a lot. **


	18. I Wish I Could Have Saved You

**I Wish I Could Have Saved You**

A/N: So…I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. But here's a new one…I hope you all like this chapter! – Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_The next day..._

_Brooke babysitting at the Leyton home…_

Brooke shook her head. "You can't date Julian."

"And why not?" Elizabeth asked as she reached for a red crayon and resumed her coloring.

"Because you're four and four-year-olds don't date."

"But I won't be four forever, you know!" Elizabeth said placing the red crayon back in the box. She took out a blue one and turned to the next page in her coloring book.

"True, but Julian isn't going to be 28 forever. By the time you're dad let's you date you're not going to want him. He'll be all washed up and old."

Elizabeth shook her head. "No he won't."

Brooke chuckled as she grabbed a green crayon and helped Elizabeth color in her page. "Just you wait and see."

A few minutes later, Elizabeth grew tired of coloring and got up from the table. "I don't want to color anymore. Can we do something else?"

"Like what?"

"Play hide and seek!"

Brooke nodded. "Alright, you go hide and I'll count to ten."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Shit, where is she?!"

Brooke ran into the kitchen and began flipping open cabinets. "Peyton and Lucas are going to KILL me!"

The brunette hurried out of the kitchen, headed toward the basement and into the laundry room. She opened up both the dryer and the washer and saw that they were both empty.

Brooke shook her head. "I have now officially torn this house, front yard AND backyard apart and still can't find her! Oh my God, where could she be?!"

She ran back upstairs and shouted. "ELIZABETH THIS IS NOT FUNNY ANYMORE! YOU COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Brooke stood in the hallway by the stairs for a long while, waiting for the little girl to emerge from her hiding spot but she didn't.

She threw her arms up into the air. "I lost her! I have lost my best friend's four-year-old, DIABETIC daughter!"

Just as the tears that had been welling up in her eyes had started to fall, Brooke heard the side door opening.

Her eyes lit up and she ran toward the kitchen. "Lizzie?!"

Brooke's hopes were dashed when she saw that it wasn't Elizabeth, but Lucas and Peyton entering into the house.

Peyton dropped her purse down on the counter. "Hey what's going—Brooke…what's wrong? Why are you crying?!"

Brooke started to stutter. "I…I…"

"What is it Brooke?" Lucas asked growing worried. "Where's Lizzie? Is she alright?"

The brunette sighed and cried out. "I don't know! I—I don't know where she is!"

Peyton and Lucas's jaws both dropped in horror.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS?!" Lucas asked shouting.

A flustered, devastated Brooke shook her head. "We were playing hide and seek and I can't find her! I can't find her because she's not here! I've been looking EVERYHWERE for her for the past hour and—"

Brooke's words were cut off by the sound of the front door opening. She, Lucas and Peyton hurried out of the kitchen and came face to face with Elizabeth.

"Mommy! Daddy! You're home!" Elizabeth ran over to her parents.

"Elizabeth!" Peyton admonished. "Where were you?!"

"I was playing hide and seek! I hid in the backyard…in Bandit's doghouse."

Brooke shook her head. "No Lizzie, I looked in Bandit's house and you weren't there."

"Yes I was!"

"Then why didn't I find you when I looked in there? And why are you coming in through the FRONT door?"

Elizabeth fixed her mouth to speak, but stopped and said nothing.

"Answer the question." Lucas told his daughter in a raised tone.

Elizabeth started to grow teary-eyed. "I…I got bored waiting for…Aunt Brooke and…I—I saw a bunny and—"

"You opened up the back gate and followed him out into the neighborhood?!" Peyton asked, bending down to her daughter's eyelevel.

The little girl nodded her head slowly.

Peyton took her hands and began shaking her daughter. "Lizzie, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH YOU?! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO STOP WANDERING OFF BY YOURSELF?! HOW MANY TIMES?! DO YOU WANT SOMEONE TO SNATCH YOU?! DO YOU WANT TO GO INTO SHOCK?! DO YOU—"

"I…I—I'm s…sorry!" said a frightened and taken aback Elizabeth as she burst into tears.

Peyton let go of her and sighed. "Lizzie I…"

Elizabeth ran up to Lucas and he picked her up. "Don't cry Lizzie. We know you're sorry. We know. And mommy and I…we didn't me to get that angry with you it's just…you can't wander off like that, okay? That's how bad things happen and we don't EVER want anything bad to happen to you. Do you understand that?"

Elizabeth sniffed. "Y—yes."

Lucas nodded. "Okay. So how about I help you wash your face, we let your mother…calm down a little…and the three of us talk about all of this some more?"

The little girl nodded her head.

Lucas then walked over to his wife, whispered something into her ear and then headed upstairs with Elizabeth.

Peyton shook her head and made her way into the living room with Brooke.

"I…really didn't mean to yell at her like that." The blonde said as she plopped down on the couch. "It's just…she collapsed the other day and…even if she didn't have diabetes…she's still only four; four-year-olds CANNOT be wandering around the streets. Especially MY four-year-old because…"

Brooke sighed. "Because…"

"Because I'm STILL not convinced that my accident…was an accident and if there's someone out to get me…no one close to me is safe either."

Brooke fixed her lips to respond when she heard a knock on the door. She walked over to it, opened it up and saw Julian standing before her.

"Mr. M.I.A. has finally resurfaced."

Julian nodded. "Where's Peyton?"

"Right here." Peyton said as she entered into the hallway and met Brooke and Julian by the front door. "Where have you been? Were you out trying to find Sara?"

"I was."

"And?"

"Do you want to hear the good news or bad news first?"

"Bad."

Julian nodded. "Okay, well…I wasn't able to find her."

Peyton sighed. "Well what's the good news?"

"The good news is that…I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about. I really, truly believe that the whole drugged drink/car accident thing was random."

Brooke nodded. "I agree."

"I hope you all are right." Peyton said, still somewhat doubtfully. She then directed her attention toward the stairs and sighed. "I better get up there and apologize to Lizzie for flipping my shit."

Julian eyed Peyton curiously. "What happened with Lizzie?"

Brooke sighed. "I lost her today. I was babysitting her and she wandered away from the house while playing hide and go seek. I was looking all over for her like crazy and it wasn't until nearly an hour later she came strolling back in…right around the time Lucas and Peyton got back. I feel so terrible about the whole thing. I should've—"

"Brooke, don't feel bad." Peyton said interrupting. "Everyone knows that Lizzie's a wanderer."

"Exactly why I should've—"

"Brooke, stop it. Lizzie knows not to wander like that. Still, I feel really bad about yelling at her like I did. I don't ever lose it like that with her."

"I'm sure Lizzie knows you didn't mean to." Brooke reassured. "And I think she's learned her lesson."

"Hopefully. But I swear it's like sometimes Lucas and I tell her things and it goes in one ear and right out the other."

"Yeah well I don't think that'll be happening again."

Julian, who had remained very silent as he listened, chimed in. "I think Brooke's right."

Peyton slowly nodded. "We shall see. The big test will be at Nathan and Haley's party on Friday."

"Julian, are you going?" Brooke asked. "Nathan texted and told you about it, right? He said he was going to."

"He did but umm…I unfortunately can't make it." Julian checked the time on his cell. "I'm heading back to L.A. tomorrow morning and I…actually need to get going so I can start packing."

"But I thought the whole reason you came to town was to talk to Lucas about doing another movie?" asked a confused Peyton. "You haven't seen him and you're leaving?"

Julian nodded. "Yeah well…I'm going to have to put that vision of mine on hold for a while. Something's…come up."

"Nothing bad I hope?" Brooke asked.

Julian shook his head. "No, not at all. Not…at…all."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Just as Julian hopped onto the highway, his cell started to go off. He reached into his pocket, saw who it was and quickly answered it. "Hey it's good that you called I—that's what I wanted to talk to you about. The whole Sara thing…not a big deal. It really isn't. Why? Because a brilliant idea hit me earlier and…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I know I'm ingenious, right? You'll see…everything's going to work out and that bitch…she's going to get it. Trust me. Now…I need you to move my flight up to tomorrow morning. I have to be in—exactly. I need to get there ASAP and—would you stop saying that?! NOTHING'S GOING TO GO WRONG, OKAY?! It's all going to work out perfectly. You'll see."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Later that night…_

_Empty diner in Savannah, GA_

"Al, you're taking more time off?"

The brunette nodded her head, got up from her seat at the counter and picked up her papers. "Yeah, there are some things I need to take care of out of town."

Darlene nodded. "Does it have to do with that character that stopped by to see you yesterday? The one who called you—"

"No." Sara said cutting her off. "Not really. Though that was a very…interesting visit to say the least. He unintentionally told me some…extremely useful information that is going to help me do what I have to do."

"So how long you going to be gone for?" Darlene asked as she continued to clean off the counter. "When will you be back?"

Sara shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know if I'll be back."

"Why not?"

Sara stared long and hard at her co-worker's eyes before deciding to ignore her question. "I have to go."

The young waitress then made her way toward the exit and left the diner.

As Sara headed off toward her car in the employees parking lot, she looked down at the papers in her hands and sighed. "I hope I go to the right Scott house on Friday, but…whatever, I'll figure it out and then…"

Sara let her voice trail off and stopped walking. She took a moment to stare at the silver necklace around her neck and then looked up into the sky. "God, I miss you so much. Life just…isn't the same without my other half. When you died, a part of me died too."

Sara paused for a moment before speaking aloud again. "I wish I could've saved you. "

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Okay…so a couple of things happened in this chapter. Brooke was babysitting Elizabeth and while playing hide and seek, Elizabeth wandered away from the house, deciding to follow a cute little bunny she saw. The little girl eventually came strolling back and Peyton really gave her a tongue lashing, in which we learn that that wasn't the first time Elizabeth has walked off like that. Not a good thing for a four-year-old diabetic to habitually like to do. It appears as thought she's learned her lesson, but…who knows. Anyways, Julian stops by the Leyton house and tells Peyton that he wasn't able to find Sara. I guess he thought lying to her was best but why? Maybe it's because he has some trick up his sleeve? Appears so by that phone call, where he said the bitch was going down and that he had suddenly come up with a great idea to make sure it happens. What could it be? Where is he flying off to? And what about Sara? She's taking some time off of her job to take care of some business out of town. Apparently Julian inadvertently told her something that is going to help her do whatever it is she has to do. So what do you all think is up with her? Hmmm…anyways…please review with your thoughts/comments. I greatly appreciate them! – Jasmine **

**Coming Up…**

**Naley's party**

**And later…**

**Lucas goes to see Dan and asks him for a favor**

**"What the HELL is this?! Where am I?!"**


	19. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

**She Wore a Yellow Ribbon**

A/N: Okay so here's another one. It ended up being longer than I thought it would be so you all are lucky. Hopefully you guys enjoy it! – Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naley basement…

"Chase I'm glad you're back and that you were able to make it." Haley said as she sat down with her drink on the couch next to Nathan. "You're dad…he's doing better now, right?"

Chase nodded. "Much better. Thanks for asking."

Brooke cleared her throat in an attempt to get everyone's attention. Soon all eyes were on her. "So…" She began. "Since the kids are upstairs playing and Karen, Andy and Deb went to the store to pick up a couple of things…how about we play a quick game of 'I Never'?"

"I'm down." Haley said smirking. "What about everyone else?"

Nathan, Skills, Chase, Mouth, and Millicent nodded their heads in agreement.

Brooke looked over at her best friend. "Peyton…Lucas….what about you two?"

The two blondes glanced at each other, but remained silent.

Brooke chuckled. "What's the matter with you guys? We're all doing it! Stop being shy. Really…your stories CANNOT be as racy as some of us. I mean, we don't call Skills, Skills for nothing."

Everyone laughed except for Skills, who shot the brunette a dirty look.

"So how about it?" Brooke asked once again. "Just for a little while."

Lucas nodded. "Alright."

"P. Sawyer?"

Peyton sighed. "Ok, let's do it."

Brooke smiled. "Great. Millie, you go first."

Millicent nodded and pondered for a moment before speaking. "I…never…had sex on a plane."

Brooke took a sip and shouted out. "All proud members of the mile high club raise your cups and drink!"

Everyone looked around at each other for a minute before Nathan, Haley, Lucas, Peyton, Chase and Skills raised their cups and took a sip.

Brooke smirked at Haley. "I'm slightly surprised at you Tutor mom."

Haley shrugged. "Hey…what can I say? When you want it…you want it."

Brooke nodded. "Ok, how about you go next you?"

Haley thought long and hard before stating, "I have never…done it in the middle of the woods."

The gang all looked around and after a long while Lucas and Peyton picked up their cups and took a swig.

Nathan chuckled. "Alright…since you two were the only ones to drink you got to tell the story."

Lucas sighed. "All I'm going to say is that I wouldn't recommend it. Unless you're a…expert on plants. Right Peyton?"

Lucas began laughing and Peyton shot him a dirty look and hit him hard in the chest. "Not funny!"

Brooke shook her head and giggled. "Peyton, don't tell me that you got…you know never mind I don't even want to know…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Where is my basketball?" Jamie asked himself as he looked around his front porch. "I know I left it out here somewhere."

Jamie continued searching when he heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up and saw a food delivery guy.

"Did someone here order Chinese?" the pale, redheaded man asked.

"No. I think you have the wrong house."

The delivery guy checked the address on his bag. "This isn't 124?"

Jamie shook his head. "No, that house is on the next block."

"Oh, okay. I'll head over. Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem." Jamie said nodding.

The young man headed back to his car and Jamie resumed his search for his missing basketball.

Backyard…

"Are you almost done?" Elizabeth asked, starting to grow slightly impatient. "And what are you doing to my hair anyways?"

"I'm giving you two partial French braids and leaving the back of your hair down." Lily said as she undid the braid on the left side of Elizabeth's head and started again. "And yes…I'm almost done. Now pass me your ribbon."

Elizabeth handed her aunt one of her yellow ribbons. Lily took it and tied it tightly around the end.

"Okay I'm finished."

Lily picked up the mirror from off the picnic table and handed it to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth got up and looked at her hair.

"So what do you think Lizzie?" Lily inquired. "Do you like it?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I like it a lot! You're really good! Are you going to be a hairstylist when you grow up?"

"I hope so!" Lily said as she took the mirror from Elizabeth and got up.

Just then, Jamie strolled into the backyard. "Hey Lily, do you want to play cards?"

"Sure, but I thought you were going to play basketball."

Jamie sighed. "I wanted to shoot some hoops, but I can't find my good ball and all the other ones I have need air in them so no."

Lily nodded. "Ohhh. Well what game do you want to play?"

"How about spit?"

Lily pondered briefly before agreeing. "Ok. But first let me just run this mirror back into the house and grab my camera. I want to take a picture of Lizzie's hair."

Lily ran over to the backdoor and headed inside.

Jamie walked up to the picnic table, sat down, pulled the playing cards out of his pocket and began shuffling the deck.

"Can I play too?" Elizabeth asked as she sat down next to Jamie.

"No." Jamie responded to his cousin coldly.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because it's a two person game."

"Well can I play in the next game?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

"No." Jamie told her as he starting setting up the game.

Elizabeth sighed. "Can I play with Chester then?"

Jamie shook his head no.

"Please? I'm bored!"

Jamie shrugged. "Not my problem."

"Are you still mad at me?" asked a confused Elizabeth.

Jamie ignored her and continued setting up the game.

Elizabeth huffed. "I said I was sorry!"

Jamie put down the cards, got up and stared down at his cousin. "You're sorry's don't mean anything to me, you know why? Because you're always apologizing for getting me into trouble and you're always promising me that you won't do it again, yet you ALWAYS do. And for things that aren't even my fault most of the time!"

He paused for a minute before continuing. "It's because of you I had to miss my basketball team's championship game yesterday! The game my team lost because I wasn't there to help them! Gosh you are so annoying! Sometimes I wish my crazy Nanny Carrie would just rise from the dead and come and take you far away!"

Jamie stomped off toward the backdoor, slammed it shut behind him and left the little girl alone outside.

Elizabeth got up, stood in place and tears began to fall down her cheeks. She made her way to the backdoor and tried to open it, but couldn't because Jamie had locked it.

She walked over to the side of the house and sat down on the ground.

"He's so mean." Elizabeth said to herself as took her hands and wiped away her tears. "I…"

The little girl let her voice trail off as she noticed a pretty red butterfly land on her shoulder. She smiled at it.

The butterfly then flew off her shoulder and began flying around her. Elizabeth got up and watched it go.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Lily walked into the living room with her digital camera and saw Jamie sitting on the couch watching TV, flipping through channels.

Lily began looking around. "Where's Lizzie?"

"Outside."

"Well why didn't she come in when you did?"

"Because she can't. I locked it."

Lily walked over to Jamie and punched him in the arm.

"Oww!" Jamie said, grabbing his arm. "What was that for?"

Lily gave him a look. "What do you think?! For being mean to my niece!"

Jamie sighed. "It hasn't even been that long. I wasn't planning on leaving her out there by herself for more than a couple of minutes. I just needed some space she's always around and she's been irritating me."

Lily shook her head. "You cannot seriously still mad at her. Really Jamie…get over it! She had no idea that what she said to Lucas and Peyton would get you in trouble. If she did, she never would've said it."

"And how do you know that?"

"You don't get it do you?" Lily asked.

"Get what?"

Lily threw her arms up into the air. "You're her freaking hero Jamie! Next to Brooke, you were all she talked about when she came to visit my mom, Andy and I. Jamie said this. Jamie did that. Jamie, Jamie, Jamie! She looks up to you. How would you like to be treated like crap by someone you really admired?"

"I wouldn't." Jamie said sighing. "I think I should…probably apologize to her."

"I think that'd be a good idea."

Jamie got up and he and Lily headed outback.

"Hey Lizzie, I unlocked the door." Jamie said as he looked around the backyard. "You can come in if you want. Or you can stay out here with us."

Jamie and Lily stood waiting for Elizabeth to emerge from wherever she was, but she didn't.

Jamie sighed. "Lizzie, I'm sorry that I got so mad at you. I won't yell at you again."

"I'll make sure he won't." Lily chimed in.

Jamie and Lily continued searching around the backyard for Elizabeth and then made their way toward the front of the house to look for her.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haley shook her head. "It's a good thing we decided to start drinking soda instead because had we continued with the alcohol you two…"

She let her voice trail off and directed her eyes toward the blondes. "Would be so freaking wasted right now!"

Brooke nodded her head agreement. "Seriously. And I thought Skills would have the racier stories! Boy was I wrong. You two have done it in an airplane, the woods, at thee zoo, on a train, in a a Jacuzzi, a closet, the music studio, a bathroom stall…"

"Don't forget the elevator!" Mouth said laughing.

"Or the diving board." Skills said shaking his head. "And you've never gotten caught doing it somewhere you shouldn't be doing it. That's amazing."

"Oh, but they almost did." Haley said chuckling.

Lucas and Peyton shot her a look, but Haley continued on.

"So Lizzie, Karen and Lily almost walked in on Lucas and Peyton getting ready to have sex on Lizzie's bed!"

Nathan, Skills, Chase, Mouth and Millicent eyes widened in shock.

Peyton blushed. "That's not true!"

Haley sighed. "Okay, okay. You two caught yourselves a couple of minutes before they walked in, but still…you DID almost have SEX on your four-year-old daughter's BED!"

Everyone, aside from Lucas and Peyton burst out into laughter and just as Peyton fixed her lips to respond, she was interrupted by Jamie and Lily stomping down the stairs and running over to them.

"Hey, guys what—"

"We don't where Lizzie is." Jamie said interrupting his aunt. He tried hard to blink back his tears. "She's gone!"

Lucas immediately ran upstairs. "Dammit, where is she?!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE?!" Peyton asked Lily and her nephew. "SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO STAY WITH THE TWO OF YOU?!"

Peyton didn't wait for a response as she hurried off upstairs behind Lucas, with Brooke, Chase, Nathan, Skills, Mouth and Millicent following close behind.

Haley put her hands on her hips. "Did you two leave Lizzie by herself?!"

Jamie shook his head. "It's not Lily's fault. She was in the house…g—getting her camera and I was…outback with Lizzie when…"

"When?"

"I g—got angry at her and yelled. And…t—then…"

"And then what?"

Jamie started stuttering. "I—I…I—I…left her outside by herself and locked the door behind me."

Haley glared at her son. "YOU LEFT AND LOCKED YOUR FOUR-YEAR-OLD, DIABETIC COUSIN OUTSIDE THE HOUSE BY HERSELF?!"

Jamie slowly nodded. "I...I just needed t—to get away f…from her for a bit. It was only for l—like two minutes. I felt bad about it and…w—went outside to apologize and…t—to let her in but…when Lily and I went…b—back out we couldn't find her."

"I have never been more disappointed in you than I am right now James Lucas Scott." Haley said shaking her head. She then left the two kids in the basement and headed up the stairs.

"I never wanted…a—anything to…to happen to….her." Jamie said. He let the tears fall down his face. "If anything…bad happens to Lizzie, I'll…never forgive myself."

Lily went to hug Jamie. "It's okay Jamie. Lizzie will be alright. She can't be far. They'll find her."

The two cousins hugged for a long while before they finally broke away and headed upstairs.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"ELIZABETH!" Lucas shouted out from across the street. "ELIZABETH!"

Nathan, who had been searching for his niece a couple streets down, remerged onto his block and ran over to his brother. "No luck?"

A devastated Lucas shook his head and whipped out his cell. "No! I'm calling the cops!"

Peyton and Brooke were searching together on the other block.

"ELIZABETH!" Peyton cried out in desperation. "ELIZABETH, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"ELIZABETH!" Brooke shouted out. She shook her head. "Where could she be? There's no way she would've wandered off after that incident the other day, right?!"

"I—I don't…know!" Peyton said in between tears. "I DON'T KNOW!"

After having no luck, Peyton and Brooke made their way back to Nathan and Haley's house where a panic stricken Lucas, Nathan, Haley, Chase, Skills, Mouth, Millicent…as well as Jamie and Lily…stood outside in a frenzy.

Peyton ran up to her husband. "Did you call the cops?!"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah…t—they issued an…Amber alert and…they're on…their way over here."

It was at that moment that Lily spotted something in the road, by the sidewalk. She walked over to it and picked it up.

"What is that Lily?" Brooke asked curiously.

Lily sighed. "It's…it's one of Lizzie's ribbons."

Peyton slowly walked up to Lily and took the yellow ribbon from her. She closed her eyes and held the ribbon close to her heart. She then burst into tears. "Where's our baby Lucas?! We—we need…to find her. We need to find her!"

"We will." Lucas said as he pulled his wife into his arms. He let the tears that had been welling up in his eyes fall. "We…will."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**There it is! I hope you all liked it. Anyways…Elizabeth….totally gone now for real this time! Jamie got kind of upset with her and locked the little girl out of the house and left her outside by herself. Elizabeth sat by the side of the house in tears before seeing a butterfly, which made her smile. You know the kid loves animals and insects and all that type of stuff so…do you think she followed it? Peyton said last chapter that her and Lucas are always telling Elizabeth not to do things and sometimes it goes in one ear and out the other. But still…Peyton gave her a really bad tongue lashing lash chapter for wandering so do you really think she'd do it again? Or is something else going on? Did someone take her? And if so, why? What would be the point? Well whatever happened to Elizabeth…it's crucial they find her ASAP because even if she wasn't actually taken or anything, she could still pass out, seize up, drift off into a coma and die if she goes for too long without her insulin so…time is of the essence. Will Elizabeth be found before it's too late? Hmm. Anyways…this story has finally reached its climax! The crazy shit's about to start so if you want me to update this soon leave a review with your thoughts/predictions. I greatly appreciate them! – Jasmine **

**Coming Up…**

**The search for Elizabeth begins**

**Lucas asks Dan for help**

**Peyton receives a cryptic message**


	20. You're Invited!

**You're Invited!**

A/N: Sorry it's been like two months since I've updated! I'm done with school until fall but like I've said before…this story is the hardest to get back into writing once I've stepped away from it for a bit because there are so many little details I have to keep straight or else I'll f*ck it up. I also work and I have a life so yeah…you'll be seeing more updates of my stories but don't expect something new like everyday…that's just not going to happen. But anyways…here's the next chapter. Hope you all like it! – Jasmine

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Naley house…_

"Do you have a recent photo of your daughter?"

A teary-eyed Peyton shook her head at the police officer. "N—no not…on me. I—"

"I can find you one." Haley interrupted as she sat up from her spot next to Peyton on the couch. "Let me go look through some of the photo albums."

She then exited out of the living room and headed upstairs.

"Now Mrs. Scott…is it possible that your daughter might have wandered off after something or—"

"No!" Peyton shouted out cutting him off. "I laid into Lizzie just YESTERDAY about wandering off! She knows not to do it!"

The officer nodded and jotted some notes down on his notepad. "Other than this Sara character you've told me about, is there anyone else you think might have taken Elizabeth?"

Peyton vigorously shook her head. "No, there's no one else! And I know you think that my thinking is way off but I'm telling you…she is the one who has my daughter and—"

"I told you someone would be looking into her." the officer told Peyton, though not all that convincingly. "Now…I would like to know more about that father-in-law of yours, Dan Scott. He is a convicted murderer is he not?"

Peyton sighed. "Dan did not take Elizabeth."

"And how can you be so sure of that?"

"BECAUSE AS EVIL AS DAN IS I KNOW HE LOVES ELIZABETH AND WOULD NEVER TAKE HER OR DO ANYTHING TO HURT HER!"

Just as the officer opened up his mouth to respond, Haley remerged into the living room from upstairs and handed him a photo of Elizabeth. "This was taken just last month."

The officer nodded. "Now, are you all sure that there weren't any suspicious looking individuals in the area?"

Peyton ran a hand through her hair and threw her arms up into the air. "Like I've told you a BILLION times already…NO!! NONE THAT WE'RE AWARE OF!!"

Peyton shook her head and got up from off the couch. "I can't do this anymore. I can't just SIT here while my four-year-old DIABETIC daughter is missing! I can't and I won't…I'm leaving to meet up with Lucas and the search party!"

"But Mrs.—"

"NO! I've been sitting here, answering all of your REPETIVE questions over and over again for long enough! I'm going!"

"I'm going with you." Brooke said as she too sat up from the couch and began rummaging through her purse in search of her car keys.

The blonde quickly turned her attention to Haley. "Lizzie she…she knows our house number so if she's able to get to a phone and calls I want someone that she knows and is comfortable with to be at the house to answer it so she won't get scared and hang up and—"

"You got it." Haley said interrupting. "I'll take Jamie and Lily with me and we'll sit at your house by the phones and if Lizzie calls or I hear ANYTHING new I'll call you."

Peyton wiped away the tears from coming from her eyes and hugged her. "Thank you."

"You ready?" Brooke asked as she pulled the keys from her bag.

Peyton nodded. "Yeah let's go."

The two best friends brushed passed Haley and the police officer, hurried to the front door and exited the house.

"Jamie!" Haley yelled out to her son. "Lily!"

The kids instantly came running up from the basement and quickly emerged into the living room.

"Did they find Lizzie!?" Lily asked hopefully.

Haley sighed and shook her head. "Not yet but—"

"You should tell them about that weird looking delivery guy you were talking to me about." Lily said to Jamie, cutting Haley off.

The police officer raised an eyebrow and eyed Jamie. "Do tell."

Jamie took in a deep breath. "Not long before Lizzie went missing this strange, creepy looking Chinese food delivery guy came to the house. He thought this was 124 and I…I told him he had the wrong house and that he had to go to the other block. He thanked me and then left."

"What did he look like?" the officer asked as he jotted down some more notes.

Jamie thought for a minute before responding. "He was tall…kind of chubby. He was pale too…and had blue eyes and red hair…like fire engine red…and he was wearing black, horn-rimmed glasses."

The officer continued to write on his notepad and then directed his attention to Haley. "Okay you can all go to your brother-in-law's house now if you want but I'm sending over two officers and a sketch artist to do a composite drawing of this guy…he definitely sounds like he could at the very least be a person of interest. Hopefully we'll be able to find him…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The red-haired man stood examining his profile in the mirror. "Alright Mark…now that the dirty work is done it's time to transform back into the handsome devil that you are."

He slowly removed his black horn-rimmed glasses and placed them on the counter in front of him. He then opened up his eyes and removed his blue colored contacts, revealing dazzling emerald green eyes.

Mark then lifted up his shirt and took it off, revealing his fat suit. After struggling a bit he was finally able to remove the padding and he tossed it onto the floor.

He leaned in closer to the mirror before him, began running his hands through his hair and shook his head. "I look like a fucking clown. This Bozo red dye better not have fucked up my hair too much."

Mark opened up a draw, pulled out some dark brown hair dye, placed it beside the glasses, and just as he started ripping off his prosthetic face his cell rang.

Mark sighed, exited the bathroom, headed into a bedroom and picked up the cell from off the bed. He flipped the phone open, saw who was calling and hit the ignore button. "Eh, she can wait. I'll call her back when I'm finished fixing myself up."

He threw the phone back onto the bed and made his way back toward the bathroom.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Elizabeth!" Nathan called out as he moved some tree branches from his view. "Elizabeth!"

"Do you really think she could be here in these woods?" Skills asked as he followed behind Nathan.

Nathan sighed. "Well some passerby's heard loud shrieks coming from in here so maybe…and hopefully if she is we'll find her unharmed, alert and not passed out somewhere because of her diabetes."

Meanwhile in another part of the woods, by the forest entrance, an anxious Lucas stood on the side of the road, tapping his foot and constantly checking his cell.

A few minutes later Brooke's car pulled up next to him and Brooke and Peyton immediately hopped out and the blonde ran over to Lucas as fast as she could and embraced him.

"No news?"

Peyton shook her head no. "H—has anyone found anything?"

Lucas sighed. "No one's found any traces of—"

"HEY I THINK I FOUND SOMETHING!"

"That sounds like Chase." Brooke said looking around. "But where is he?"

The trio entered into the woods and quickly spotted Chase near a swamp, surrounded by Nathan, Skills, Andy, police officers and detectives.

"What is it?!" Lucas asked a he ran up to Chase. "What did you find?!"

Chase sighed. "I found a—"

"Sandal." the lead detective said, holding up the shoe. "A little white sandal. Is this Elizabeth's?"

Peyton burst into tears and buried her face into her husband's chest while he blinked back his own tears and nodded slowly.

The detective turned his attention to the officer standing next to him. "I want you to call down to the station and tell them we need a crew to come up and drain this swamp."

"Got it boss." He then whipped out his cell and walked off to make the call.

"T—they found…her s—shoe." Peyton stuttered. "They…f—found…h—her…shoe!"

Lucas took his hand, lifted his wife's face from off his chest and stared deeply into her tear-stricken green eyes. "That…t—that doesn't mean that…she's in that swamp. DO NOT assume the worse. W—we have to…think positively."

Peyton nodded and laid her head back down on Lucas's chest and whispered out. "I just want our baby to come back to us."

"And she will." Lucas whispered into her ear. "She will."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_A little later that night…_

Mark zipped up his blue Abercrombie hoodie over his white polo shirt and stared at himself in the bathroom mirror.

He stared long and hard at his now very dark brown locks, grabbed a can of hairspray from off the sink counter and sprayed his hair.

"You're looking sharp Mark." the young man said to himself as he placed the can back down and ran his hands through his hair. "Looking sharp."

He stepped away from the mirror and sighed. "I guess I should go and check on the kid."

Mark exited the basement bathroom and headed down the hall toward a plain looking guest bedroom. He pushed the twin-sized bed into a corner in the room, bent down and began rolling up the area rug, revealing a hidden passageway through the floor.

Mark stands up, heads over to a bookcase, removes a copy of _The Catcher and the Rye_, opens it up and removes a small remote from it.

He hits a button, tosses the remote and book onto the bed and watches the door slowly open up. Mark then makes his way over to the entrance and begins walking down the ladder, heading into a secret part of the house.

Once he reached the floor he hopped off the ladder and made his way down a hall and into darkly lit room.

Mark walked up to the two way mirror and stared at Elizabeth, who was tied up, though not all that tightly, in a chair in the secretly built, reverse panic-like room.

"Shit, she looks like she's waking up." Mark said to himself quietly. "Her eyes are fluttering."

Mark turned to his right, reached into a drawer in a nearby desk and pulled out a small vial and syringe. He measured out an appropriate dosage and made his way over to the panic room door.

Mark entered the password on a number key pad and the door opened up. He walked over to Elizabeth, took her right arm and injected the sedative into her.

Elizabeth instantly became loopy. Her eyes slowly closed and her head drooped to the left.

"That's better." Mark said aloud. He then exited out of the room, whipped out his cell from his pants pocket and began dialing.

"Yo, where the hell are you? I—yes I walked right up to the house and made sure the cousin got a good look at me and…yeah I put one of her shoes in the—yes I just gave her another sedative but I can't keep drugging her. You need to get here and—no I didn't AGREE to do this; your crazy ass BLACKMAILED me into SWIPING the kid only and—fine, whatever. Just come here and take care of your business."

Mark ended the call, shook his head, tossed the cell onto the desk and watched Elizabeth through the mirror.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

An agitated Sara tossed her cell into the passenger's seat and shook her head. "I can't believe that…"

She let her voice trail off and then began rummaging through her backseat.

"I know its back here somewhere." Sara said to herself. "It has to be."

Sara continued sifting through her messy backseat, knocking down her handbag and spilling its contents all over the floor of the car.

She quickly tossed her wallet, lip gloss and a white envelope addressed to Peyton, back into the purse and resumed rummaging.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"What is taking them so long?" Brooke asked nervously. "It's just a swamp. It shouldn't be taking them this long to drain a swamp!"

"They're going as fast as they can." Chase told his fiancée. "It's really dark out here now and that swamp is pretty deep."

Brooke sighed. "I know it is. I know."

She turned her attention to a devastated Lucas and Peyton standing together, watching a team of men as they continued to drain the swamp water.

She then looked over at Nathan. "Have you talked to Haley? Were they able to uh…get a good composite drawing of that guy Jamie had seen?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, she just sent me a text saying that all the news stations, statewide and hopefully nationally, will be showing his face in their morning news broadcasts tomorrow."

"So what exactly is this guy supposed to look like?" Chase asked.

Brooke fixed her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the ringing of her cell. Nathan began describing the man to Chase and Brooke stepped away from the guys and answered her phone.

"Julian?" Brooke asked, kind of surprised.

_Julian seemed surprised himself. "Brooke?" He checked his cell and saw that it was indeed Brooke whom he had called. "I meant to call my buddy Brock, not you. I'm sorry."_

Brooke ran a hand through her brown locks and sighed. "It's okay I—"

_"You alright Brooke?" Julian asked worriedly. "You seem sad."_

"It's Lizzie…she's missing."

_Julian's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Are you serious?!"_

"Yeah." Brooke paused for a moment and took in a deep breath before continuing. "One minute she's outside with Jamie…he goes inside for a second, comes out and she's gone."

_"How long has she been missing for?"_

"Hours."

_Julian shook his head in disbelief. "And the police don't have any leads?"_

Brooke sighed. "Y—you know that swamp in the forest on the border of Tree Hill and Wrightsboro?"

_"Yeah…"_

"One of…Lizzie's shoes…w—was found in the water. There's a team draining it right now to see if..." She let her voice trail off.

_"Don't…assume the worse Brooke." Julian said, sensing her gloomy outlook. "Someone probably just...planted the shoe to throw the police off." _

Brooke sniffled. "I pray to God you're right."

There was a long period of silence on both ends of the phone before he eventually spoke up. _"I want to help. Is there anything I can do?"_

"From California?"

_"No, I'm not in __L.A.__ anymore. As soon as I landed I pretty had to turn right back around to take care of some production business in __Charlotte__. My plane just landed a couple of minutes ago and I'm sitting here in the __Charlotte__ airport…just an hour or so from Tree Hill."_

"Well I'm not sure how you could help really…Lucas, Peyton, me and everyone else…we're just standing around and waiting right now…trying our best to stay out of the way and let the police and rescue team do there thing. It's too late to pass out flyers and the earliest news broadcasts aren't going to be airing for hours still so—"

"_I'm still going to come." Julian said interrupting. "If I can't help tonight, I can at least be there to help first thing in the morning."_

"That's…very sweet of you Julian. Very sweet."

_Julian nodded. "__Elizabeth__'s going to be okay Brooke. She's a little fighter…just like that kick-ass godmother of hers."_

Brooke smiled softly. "That she is."

_"Alright, I'll let you go. I'll see you soon." Julian ended the call, hopped up from his seat in the terminal and quickly made his way toward the airport exit._

Brooke shut her flip phone and as she went to place it in her pocket, she caught glimpse of her engagement ring. She stared long and hard, letting her mind wander for a minute, before going to catch up with Nathan and Chase.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Much later that night at the Leyton house…_

Karen got up from her seat at the kitchen table, walked up behind her son and wrapped her arms around him. "There's a reason they didn't find Lizzie in that swamp Lucas and that's because she's alive and well. Don't you stop believing that."

Lucas sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes. "B—but it's been…h—hours now Mom. My FOUR-year-old DIABETIC little girl…h—has been missing for hours in this dark, cold….unforgiving world alone and unprotected. T—the more time that passes…the less chance there is for her out there and you know that."

Lucas got up and made his way over to the kitchen entrance. He then stood watching his distraught wife sitting on the couch in the living room, being comforted by Brooke.

Karen sighed and walked up to him. "Even though she's sad and hurting…your wife over there…she's one the bravest and strongest women I've ever met. And you my son…you are just as strong and courageous. So what does that make Lizzie?"

"One tough cookie." Lucas said as he rubbed eyes. "One tough little cookie."

"That's right…she's one tough little cookie who's going to be just fine."

Lucas nodded his head slowly. He then turned his attention to his mother and stared deeply into her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you…for being here. Even though none of us can do much right now except wait and stay out of the investigators way….having you here by my side...it r—really means the world to me."

"There's no other place I'd rather be." Karen said as she went to hug her son.

Mother and son stood hugging for a long time before eventually breaking away from the embrace and heading into the living room together.

Peyton stood up as Lucas made his way over to her, wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. After a long while he whispered something into her ear. Peyton nodded and the two then directed their attention to the family and friends that surrounded them in the living room.

"Thank you all…s—so much for…all of your support." Lucas said, pausing momentarily to wipe his nose. He then continued. "You all being here for us during this…extremely difficult time…it really means the world to Peyton and I but…"

Lucas let his voice trail off and took a minute to clear his throat before he resumed speaking. "There's nothing that…any of us can do until daylight so…we want you all to…g—go home and get some rest."

Nathan sighed. "Luke are you sure that—"

"Yes." Lucas said cutting him off. "There's nothing that you can do. Not right now. So please…you all go and get some sleep."

Nathan slowly nodded his head. "Okay."

"But if you need us for ANYTHING, call." Brooke added.

"And we'll be ready to help tomorrow…as soon as day breaks." Julian, who had recently caught up with the group, chimed in.

Lucas nodded. "Thank you."

Everyone then began hugging and saying there goodbyes and left the house.

Lucas slowly closed the front door behind Andy, locked it and him and Peyton made their way back over to the sofa and sat down.

"Lizzie she…s—she never….sleeps w—without her stuffed alligator." Peyton said as she laid her head on Lucas's chest. "How is she…supposed to get through the night without Allie…without us?!" She then began sobbing uncontrollably.

"I don't know." Lucas said to her, the tears pouring from his eyes. "I…don't…know…"

Peyton rubbed her eyes and sniffled. "There has to be SOMETHING that you and I can do—"

"It's too dark out." Lucas said interrupting. "The police they…want us to stay out of the searching process until the morning because us being out there at this time of night…would just be a hindrance to them. It's only a few more hours. As soon as those birds start chirping…we're g—going to hand out flyers, make a…public plea for Lizzie's safe return on air, and continue searching ourselves. And we'll call a private detective of our own too, okay?"

Peyton slowly nodded, but remained quiet and the couple sat in silence.

After a long while Lucas spoke up. "We…really should wash up and…change clothes. I'm going to…take a quick shower and then I'll run a bath for you, okay?"

Peyton lifted her head off of her husband's chest and nodded.

Lucas gently caressed his wife's cheek, kissed her on the forehead, wiped his nose, hopped up from off the couch and headed upstairs.

Peyton placed her face into her hands and sobbed softly.

A few minutes later she wiped the tears from her eyes, ran a hand through her messy blonde locks and got up from off the couch.

She began making her way toward the kitchen, but stopped when she spotted a white envelope by the front door.

Peyton walked up to the door, bent down and picked up the odd, strange looking envelope with her name on it.

She examined the envelope as she made her way into the kitchen and sat down at the table and then slowly proceeded to open it.

"You're…you're invited…"

Peyton opened up the invitation, gasped in shock, picked up the photo of Elizabeth that had been placed in the invitation and began crying uncontrollably.

"OH MY GOD!" Peyton exclaimed as she sat staring at the picture of her sedated little girl, tied up in a chair with a red party hat on her head and a fringy red and white party blow out in her mouth.

"Lizzie…"

Peyton continued to stare at the photo for another minute or so before placing it down and began reading the invitation out loud.

"Y—y—you have…been…c—cordially invited to attend…a Going Away Party for…Peyton…when...tomorrow….time and location to be announced."

She paused for a moment before continuing. "So p—please come out and…join us as we take the time to…celebrate, reflect back a—and…commemorate your time here on Earth and send you off into…Hell's h—hot and un-heavenly g—gates. If you want to save your daughter you'll RSVP…867-5309."

Peyton dropped the invitation onto the table and buried her tear-stricken face into her hands and cried, but only for a minute. She then lifted up her face, wiped away her tears, slowly took out her cell from her jeans pocket and dialed.

A sinister, doctored, computerized type voice picked up the other line. _"It looks like you've received my invitation and I am…SO very happy that you've agreed to join me and Elizabeth here for your little 'Going Away' celebration. I'm certain that it's going to be a real…BLAST if you know what I mean! ANYWAYS, sometime tomorrow I'm going to call and tell you to drive to an undisclosed location where…at any given time, when you least expect it, you'll be snatched up and brought to the party. Now…I want you to take a good, long hard look at the photo in front of you."_

Peyton shakily picked up the photograph of Elizabeth and wept as quietly as she could.

_"Your little girl…she's okay. And nothing bad will happen to HER. But if you decide to tell someone about that invite and/or our conversation…because I will know if you do…I'll blow her fucking brains out."_

Peyton gasped. "NO!"

_"Have a nice night Peyton." _the line then went dead.

Peyton shut her phone, dropped it onto the table and cried out hysterically.

She then heard footsteps coming from the staircase and she quickly placed the photo back into the invitation and had just shoved it underneath the kitchen table mat in front of her when Lucas emerged into the kitchen.

"Oh Peyton…"

Lucas ran over to his wife and began stroking her hair.

Peyton's eyes quickly shifted back and forth between the mat and her husband before she finally rested them on him. "Luke, there's something that I…need…"

She let her voice trail off and thought back to threat she just received over the phone.

"What is it honey? What do you need?"

Peyton stared deeply into Lucas's light blue eyes and sighed. "I…I need for you to…stay with me and hold me in your arms."

Lucas took Peyton's into his arms and laid her head down on his chest. "Our little girl is going to come back to us. I'll do whatever takes to ensure that she does."

"So will I." Peyton whispered out. "So will I…"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Okay…so there it is! I hope you guys liked it! So…lots of stuff is going on right now. It looks like that creepy, weird looking delivery guy that had stopped by the Naley house on "accident" is in actuality a guy, dressed in disguise, that was apparently blackmailed by a certain someone into kidnapping Elizabeth…who is now being held captive in a panic room…a room that even if she wasn't all loopy and sedated she wouldn't be able to escape from. An investigation is under way and the search is on. The police officer talking to Peyton seemed to be really interested in Dan and then later the delivery guy and not all that much on Sara like Peyton wanted him to. Speaking of Sara…she seemed a little upset about something and was anxiously looking around in her car for something? What do you think that was? And what do you all think of the "party" invitation? The voice on the other line pretty much gave her no choice but to call and RSVP to her "Going Away" aka murder party. It was either RSVP and keep her mouth shut about the invitation/convo or let ****Elizabeth**** die. But what do you think is going to happen next? Do you think Peyton will end up telling Lucas about everything or do you think she's not going to risk it and is just going to play this psycho's game and, once reunited with Elizabeth, go all Kill Bill Uma Thurman and kick some butt and save the both of them herself? It's about to get CRAZYYY!! Lol…please review with your thoughts/predictions! I greatly appreciate them! – Jasmine**

**Teasers for things still to come…**

**"Lizzie wake up. Y—you…have to wake up honey! Please wake up!"**

**"Have a nice trip Lucas! HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT FALL!"**

**"NOOOOOOOO Lucas!!!!"**

**"What are you waiting for?! SHOOT!"**

**Oh…I wanted to ask you all a question. I see that most of you guys also read my other fics so I thought I'd ask: which one do you want to see updated next? Do you want another chapter of Tears Are Not Enough? Would you rather see what went down the night of the murder in ****Reunion**** more? Really curious about what's going to happen with Lucas, Nathan and Anna in She Will Be Loved? Are you more interested in finding out where the post-partum stricken Peyton ran off to after the intervention from hell in You Could Be Happy? Or are you all anxious to find out if Peyton's going crazy, really seeing the daughter she though perished in a house fire or if something else strange is going on in my newest story, Sweet Silver Lining? Those are my active fics and, though I like some a little better than others, I'm willing to update the one that a majority of my readers most want updated. So let me know in a review!**


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